The Best Thing
by mimic shalle
Summary: This year is the World Championships. This year is going to be their last. They'll kick asses, show those losers. They won't settle for anything but a royal flush. This season will end with a bang, Blitzkrieg Boys' style. Rule 63. FemKai. Rated T for the boys' mouths.
1. Chapter 1

**The Best Thing**

This year is the World Championships. This year is going to be their last. They'll kick asses, show those losers. They won't settle for anything but a royal flush. This season will end with a bang, Blitzkrieg Boys' style. Rule 63. FemKai. Rated T for the boys' mouths.

**:::**

See notes at the end.

**::::**

**Chapter One**

**:::**

When Kai renewed his contract with the Blitzkrieg Boys for another year, Tala was both happy and angry. Happy because Kai had chosen to stay with them for the last three seasons and the upcoming season instead of remaining with the G-Rev after BEGA. While it was no secret that Kai joined them again to have a chance to battle Kinomiya on the official stage, and granted Tala let him so they could have a better shot at the tournaments, the motive didn't last and Kai fought for them in earnest. Now, they were coming back this season headstrong, determined and had their sights on the ultimate title: World Champions.

Tala thinned his lips and walked more purposely down the hallway. In the three years they had spent together as a team, they all became tight. Bryan had begrudgingly given Kai another chance and was more often than not bantering with him and would be daring enough to mess his hair. Spencer had allowed Kai into the kitchen and would sometimes let him help around. Never mind the fact that the kitchen was Spencer's territory and Bryan and Tala were banned from even turning the stove knob. Ian wasn't wary of Kai anymore, too. He would approach him willingly and was even regularly partnered with him in their official matches, the pair becoming a vicious strike team when working together.

And I'm back to Tala now. Not Ivanov.

It was like they finally got their childhood friend back. Kai still can't remember a number of things, but it was starting to be like before when the five of them would stick together during the harsher days in the abbey. Now, less than twelve months from today, they were going to lose him all over again.

He had already talked to Kai about it, wanting him to change his mind, but it didn't actually go according to plan. He didn't mean to but he dug up the can of worms that was the BEGA fiasco. Kai had visibly flinched at his words and it was already too late when Tala realized what he said. He wanted to punch himself for bringing it up, giving a half-assed apology notwithstanding. He later wanted to fling himself over the nearest ledge when Kai explained his reason for wanting to leave.

After that their interactions had become strained. It reached to the point where the others had called them on it. Today it seemed those three finally had enough of their fight, or bullshit as Bryan worded it. The Hummer was already gone when he woke up earlier, leaving him alone in their cabin with the younger half Russian.

Tala reached his and Kai's room and raised a hand to knock, only to stop short and drop it to his side. He didn't need to knock, it was his room too. He twisted the door knob and peeked inside only to see a lump covered in thick blankets in the middle of Kai's bed. Judging from the open books on the study table with the stand lamp still on, the curtains still drawn and the disheveled state of the bed with its pillows strewn about, Kai still hadn't gotten up. Tala gave a quick glance at his watch, reading the time as half past ten. It seemed Kai took advantage of their day off and pulled an all nighter. Tala furrowed his brows slightly. It was a first among anything. Kai usually wakes up hours before anyone.

Tala padded across the room and sat down at the head of Kai's bed, the mattress dipping from his weight. Kai was either still really asleep or he didn't want to deal with him, Tala couldn't really tell. The only thing visible from Kai was his tuft of blue hair. Shaking his head, Tala shook Kai by the shoulder. The Kai-lump moved but the teen only seemed to curl into himself.

"Kai?" Tala asked tentatively, shaking him again. The behavior was not normal. Was he sick? Now that Tala considered it, he did seem a bit under the weather yesterday at training. "Hey, you all right?"

Kai only made a muffled noise underneath his covers. Tala shook him harder to get any semblance of coherent reaction from him. "Kai, c'mon, talk to me here."

"...urts."

The weak croak was enough to get Tala flinging the quilt in haste. Kai curled into himself tighter and seemed to be clutching his abdomen. Worry gripped Tala by the heels. "I'll call a doctor," he announced, reaching into his pocket for his phone.

Kai suddenly grabbed him by the wrist. "Kai don't be stubborn," he scolded. He could feel that the teen's temperature was a bit higher than what was healthy, his eyes were glazed and red rimmed and the deep blue markings was stark contrast to a too pale face. Kai shook his head.

"It'll pass, just let me sleep," he said.

Tala stood up, making the shorter teen loose his grip, tapping the numbers to the nearest clinic.

"Tala, stop. I'm fine."

Kai had risen from his bed and tried to get Tala's phone but the latter held him at bay. "You're not. Look, you can barely steal this thing from me," he said, exasperated, and brought the device up to his ear, catching something from the corner of his eyes. There was a red patch on the bed. Tala froze. "Is that... Is that _blood_?"

His mind went blank and he was brought immediately back to reality when his phone was suddenly snatched away from his slack grip. "_Kai_–wait. You're injured! Let me see!"

"I'm not. I told you, I'm fine. This is normal."

Tala didn't want to hear any of it and twisted and turned Kai, looking for the injury. It would be worse enough to bleed out like that—"_What the fuck!_" he spluttered upon seeing where it was. "Your fucking ass is bleeding! How the hell is that normal?! I'm calling the ambulance!"

He tried to wrestle the phone from Kai's grasp but somehow the younger twisted away from him and stood beyond immediate reach, his eyes more lucid than earlier. Tala growled. "Stop being stubborn!"

"I said this is normal," Kai insisted.

Tala stalked towards him, having enough. He could understand the aversion to hospitals and he wouldn't force any of them to go if it could be helped, but injuries leaving enough blood for a goddamn _puddle_? Tala drew the line there. Tala held out his hand to Kai, palm facing up. "The phone, Hiwatari, or I'll cut you out of the sortie."

Kai pleaded to him silently but Tala didn't budge. "The phone. _Now._"

The teen bit his bottom lip and for a moment Tala thought Kai had caved in, but the latter pulled his hand and flattened it over his chest.

Tala's mouth parted, feeling something that _really_ shouldn't be there. Kai never broke eye contact with him, the dark red orbs were stormy and there was a visible hint of fear in them. "Normal," Kai repeated.

Tala's hand twitched and felt soft flesh that was bound underneath Kai's loose shirt. _WrongWrongWrong._ He jerked his hand away as if burnt. He looked at his teammate anew, struggling for words. Kai thinned his lips into a line and rigidly walked away from him. "I'm going to take a bath," he announced as he began gathering a towel, a change of clothes and a small bag from his luggage in short order. Tala's head stopped spinning when their bathroom door closed with a quiet click. He stared dumbly at the door for a full minute, the sound of running water then turning on.

"Holy," his brain could only supply after that.

**::::**

Tala took comfort on the familiar motions of cleaning Wolborg's blade, rubbing it with microfiber cloth until there wasn't even a smudge of nonexistent dust left. It always took him hours to deem his blade clean, excluding buffing the individual parts until it shone. Though the same could be said to any of them when it comes to cleaning their blades, Bryan still accused him of having an OCD when he did his. Spencer would then nag him that he should apply that in cleaning up the dishes when he eats a midnight snack. Tala would only scoff. Kai always does the dishes when he–

Tala clicked his tongue, his hand pausing in their movement. He placed the attack ring and the cloth back on the coffee table then leaned back into his couch heavily. He glanced back to the kitchen. The light was on and he could see open books on the table. Kai was seated on one of the chairs, back turned to him and a mug of tea beside her.

Right. He was a _her_ now, wasn't she?

Tala rubbed his face with both hands, pitching his torso forward, his lower arms supporting his weight on his legs. His hands ended up framing the side of his nose, forming a triangle. The heady scent of cleaning oil replaced the smell of burning wood from the fireplace, making him grimace and drop his hands from his face. Sighing, he righted himself and stared up to the ceiling. He had already counted six pieces of logs when he realized that he was counting the pieces of their ceiling just so he could be distracted.

He hazarded another glance at his remaining teammate only to see that she hadn't moved from her spot. Tala could only shake his head, wondering how Kai could maintain her cool in this situation.

...But Kai's not as unaffected as she wanted you to believe, huh, Ivanov?

No. He wasn't being fair. He had already seen the clues even though he merely glanced up when he smelled lavender and saw Kai coming down. He just chose to ignore them. Why wouldn't he, though? Kai didn't look the way he–_she_ usually did, the one she always showed them. The _Kai_ they knew. Instead, she swiped off the blue shark fins and traded them with dark, big bug-eyed plastic frames that made her eyes seem bigger. Her hair was a bit more tamed, foregoing the styling gel, the locks with the lighter shade of blue framing her face in delicate wisps. She also didn't bind her chest which was the thing that really drove the point home for Tala and had made him look elsewhere faster than Kinomiya sprinting towards a buffet. She wasn't as flat as he thought she would be. Probably a decent B...

Tala knocked his fist on his forehead, trying to force the thought out. _Great_. He was thinking of her breasts. Priorities, Ivanov, _priorities._

He sighed again. But more than that, he was being a giant dick. Kai had tensed when he appraised her and worried the hem of her knitted shirt with hands that barely peeked from its sleeves. She was obviously uncomfortable. Hell, he was uncomfortable too. But he was the older one here. He should handle this better.

_But how?_

There wasn't exactly a book called _Holy Cow! He's a Chick!_, was there?

"_Haah_. I need a drink."

There was half a bottle of Vodka left in the kitchen. Kai was there. _Great_.

"And it's too early in the afternoon to get drunk."

Tala almost fell from the couch at the sudden intrusion. Bryan only cocked an eyebrow at him while he removed his scarf and gloves.

"_Shit!_ Give me a heart attack will you!"

"Whatever, man," Bryan replied while he dusted some white stuff off his hair.

"It snowed?"

"No. The shrimp threw some at me. Anyway, have you?" Bryan pointed his chin towards the kitchen.

Tala's gaze dropped down to the side, spotting an oil stain on the carpet. That'd be hard to clean out...

He heard the gray haired teen click his tongue. "You're so lame."

Tala felt Bryan move and immediately latched to his nearest limb, draping himself half over the wooden armrest and half over Bryan's arm. "Stop! You can't go in there!" he half hissed, half whispered.

"Be-_cause_?"

"Kai's in there!"

"That's the point, Ivanov."

"The hell are you morons whispering?"

Tala gritted his teeth, as if Bryan wasn't enough, Ian had to add in as well. Why couldn't the shrimp waited outside? Or better yet, why didn't Bryan bury him in the snow?

Ian gave him a look that clearly said 'well?' Tala opened his mouth, his mind grasping straws for an explanation. To make matters worse, Spencer came in, arms full of groceries. The blond paused only for a second to study them before shaking his head and went straight to the kitchen.

"Wait, Spencer!"

Tala finally fell to the floor with an 'oof'. He cursed under his breath when he heard numerous heavy somethings hitting the floor in the kitchen, the stuff sounding suspiciously like cans and packs of macaroni. Ian called after Spencer, yelling that the eldest better not dropped his barbeque sauce. Bryan followed suit, muttering lowly. Tala scrambled to his feet and managed to reach the kitchen just in time for Bryan to break into a steady stream of profanities all the while pointing at Kai. The girl in question was now leaning on the kitchen counter with her arms crossed over her stomach, looking like she was going to be sick.

Tala darted in front of Kai, blocking her from the gray haired Russian's view. "I can explain!" he blurted out.

"He's a fucking girl!"

Pandemonium then exploded between him and Bryan. They went round and round with the topic. Bryan couldn't get over the idea that their teammate had breasts and then would loudly exclaim she was a girl again. Tala tried to shout a word in, but there was no getting through a hysterical Bryan.

"Okay guys! _Shut up_!"

Ian's voice cut through their shouting match, his voice like a bucket of ice on the head. Tala slowly dragged his gaze to the purple haired teen. Ian was scowling and breathing heavily and was obviously frustrated. "You," he started, pointing at Spencer. "Sit before you fall over."

The oldest looked bug eyed at their youngest but did as he was told. Ian then turned to Bryan, "And you, shut your mouth before I start shooting flies in there. Sit your ass down too. Kai has tits. Get over it."

Finally, Ian turned to Tala, the corner of his mouth pulling to the side. "You... You're so lame."

Tala blinked at the comment, gobsmacked, annoyance then shortly followed for having been called lame twice all in the same hour. "What the hell, shrimp!"

"Sit your ass down too, idiot red head."

Tala muttered under his breath but found himself moving towards the nearest chair and straddling it as he glared at the big nosed Russian shrimp. "Who the hell put you in charge?" he asked sourly.

"I did, because you, _all _of you are lame. Now shut it, and let's talk like civilized people here."

There was something wrong with the picture when Ian was the one handling this fucked up mess better than any of them.

"How are you calm about... _about this_?" Spencer asked, gesturing up and down at Kai with his hand.

"Oh, her? I already knew."

The nonchalant reply left Tala spluttering and he swirled around to look at Kai. His now girl teammate shook her head, "I didn't tell him," she said, her voice uncharacteristically quiet.

"Then how?" Tala heard Bryan asked.

"Dude. Bali," Ian said, as if that simple thing explained it all. Tala levelled Ian with a stare, Bali was last year. Ian only rolled his eyes. "They don't exactly have doors there. I saw her showering—"

"And you didn't bother telling us?" Bryan hissed.

"What the hell do you want me to say, huh?" Ian shot back. "Hey guys! I thought I saw Kai had tits so I snooped into his stuff and found girly stuff! That you want me to say?" he huffed, crossing his arms. "Obviously, she doesn't want any of us to know so I left it at that. When she's gonna tell us is her damn business."

Tala bit his thumb and shot a look at Kai's direction. "Were you? Were you even going to tell us?"

Kai nodded, "After this season, yes."

"Then why change your mind? Why go out like that, this?" She clearly wasn't ready to for this confrontation yet. "I would have kept it quiet until—"

Kai suddenly shot him a venomous glare, her dark red eyes glazing. "That's rich coming from you, Tala!" she shouted. She swiped her head to the side and rubbed her eyes beneath her glasses furiously. "You can't even keep it normal when I told you I was retiring," she muttered quietly, voice cracking slightly.

Tala immediately shut his mouth. While the realization that she didn't trust him to keep her secret stung, he couldn't also blame her when she laid it out like that.

"Bravo, captain," Bryan then groused, "good job on making our only female member cry. And what's this bullshit about you retiring, Kai?"

"I'm not crying you ass."

"Yeah and I go crazy over puppies and kittens. Girl or not, why the hell are we just hearing this retiring business now?"

Kai hesitated, "I... Because..."

"Because, what? Don't tell me you actually care what we'll think."

Kai's head snapped up to Bryan, a snarl pulling her mouth. "Of course I do! You guys are the closest thing I had for brothers! Sorry if I didn't know how to tell you!" she exploded, voice hitching. "_Asshole_."

Tala wanted to say something, anything, but whatever his brain was cooking up evaporated when Kai became teary and she had to bend down her head just to hide from them while she rubbed her eyes furiously in futile attempt to hide the telltale sign of her distress.

The heavy atmosphere that draped over them lasted for an eternity with Kai's sniffing the only thing that broke the silence. None of them made a move to remedy the situation, much less make Kai stop crying at the very least. Tala felt guilt curl in his gut. It was too much like they bullied her into a corner.

Tala caught Ian looking at him, he could almost hear the latter asking him to do something about this. Tala looked back at Kai seeing her still at the same state and coming up blank. He squared his jaw and stared hard the floor, willing it to give him some answers.

A chair scraped on the floor, Tala looked up to see Spencer standing up and walked towards Kai. He watched mutely as the tallest Russian stopped beside Kai. He hesitated for a split second but draped an arm over Kai's shoulder and pulled her into a one arm hug. Kai lifted her head to Spencer and the blond only offered her a chocolate bar.

Kai gave a last sniff before accepting the offering. "Thanks, Spencer."

"You okay, now?"

Kai rubbed off the last vestiges of her tears and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. I'll be back to normal in a day or two," she mumbled, "stupid hormones."

"So. Is this the reason why you're quitting beyblade?" Spencer asked, indicating the Advance Physics tome on the table.

Kai nodded again, "Mama wanted me to go to university. She already made a trust fund before she... And I'd like to blade with you longer but I wouldn't be able to hide this soon," she said, indicating herself.

Spencer inclined his head towards Bryan. "Similar as mine, that good enough for you, Bry?"

"Yeah," Byran answered, more subdued than before.

Tala furrowed his brows. "What do you mean similar as you?"

"I'm already twenty three, Tala," Spencer shrugged. "This will be my last year, too. I already saved enough for that culinary school in the capital."

"_What?_ Why didn't I know of this?"

"Does it matter? I'm telling you now."

A blanket of silence draped over them again before Ian broke it, sighing. "So this is gonna be Blitzkrieg Boys' last year together, huh?"

Another silence. Having it said out there made the end of their team more like a physical thing. What they were arguing over earlier seemed puny when compared to this. Tala knew they'd stop blading at some point but not this soon. He had the idea they'd only stop blading together when they were in their fifties or when they were defending multiple World Championship titles.

"Hey. Stop with the moping," Bryan said, ending the quiet, "it's not like they're going to die or anything else permanent. But since these sissies wants to be poster kids for responsible youths, let's make this year count. I don't know about you guys, but those big ass medals would look sweet around our necks."

Tala and Ian shared a look. Tala quirked his mouth, Bryan's quip not really softening the hard slap reality suddenly flung at him. Ian walked over to the head of the table where they all were. He extended his fist before them. "Let's kick ass."

Brayn grinned and bumped fists with Ian. "Those losers wouldn't know what hit them."

Both boys looked at Kai expectantly, the latter pinched her mouth but extended her fist towards theirs nonetheless. "A royal flush all the way," she said, voice still having the small quality to it but nobody called her on it.

Spencer nodded and joined them. They all turned to Tala. He looked at them helplessly.

"C'mon. Take one for the team, Captain," Bryan cajoled.

Despite himself, Tala felt himself giving his trademark smirk. He promptly bumped fists with them. "We'll end this year with a bang. Blitzkrieg Boys' style."

With all their fists touching and even though this sounded more like a goodbye and it wasn't perfect and to be honest he was still having problems coinciding grouchy-wannabe-boy-punk-Kai with glasses-wearing-girl-Kai, not to mention that it smarted something fierce that Spencer planned and made a decision that didn't include any of them in the near future, nothing felt more right than _this_. There were issues still up in the air and getting used to secrets that got out of the bag would be trying, but, at this moment, being close and with promises they intend to keep, Tala somehow had a feeling they'd be all right.

"Ian."

"Yeah, Kai?"

"Did you just say you went through my things?"

Yeah. They'd be all right.

**:::**

**Chapter One**

**End**

**:::**

Haha I made Kai cry, and in the first chapter too. My life is complete. If anyone thought the sappy moment was out of character, well maybe it was, but they've been together for two years so I don't think this kind of closeness is too farfetched. Also if anyone was confused about the timeline, well this happened two years after the BEGA fiasco. Blitzkrieg is now the World Champions two years running and they are rearing up to defend their third world champion title.

Anyway, that wraps up chapter one. Questions are welcome, reviews even more so.

Keep it cool, guys

-mimic

**Edit 1. **Title changed to 'The Best Thing"

**Edit 2. **Minor summary revision.

**Edit 3. **Chapter proofread. Minor changes in description. No plot important changes.

**Edit 4. **Derp. No more posting right out of the oven for me.

**Edit 5. **Second summary revision. Chapter edited again. **Major fact change**: the World Championships now happens every four years (like the Olympics) instead of it being annually. After much thought, it doesn't make sense to have it yearly and the title will have more weight and exclusivity. Reasoning for changes will be explained better later in the succeeding chapters. Story takes place three years after BEGA now.

**Edit 6. **Final proofread and copyediting.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Best Thing**

This year is the World Championships. This year is going to be their last. They'll kick asses, show those losers. They won't settle for anything but a royal flush. This season will end with a bang, Blitzkrieg Boys' style. Rule 63. FemKai. Rated T for the boys' mouths.

**:::**

See notes at the end.

**:::**

**Chapter Two**

**:::**

Wyatt whisked the bowl of egg whites and sugar vigorously and then remembered he needed some cream of tartar as well. He picked up the bowl and cradled it on his elbow, his whisking nonstop.

"_I'll try._"

Wyatt rolled his eyes and shrugged to adjust the cordless phone stuck between his ear and shoulder. That was Kai lingo for '_I'll conveniently forget about it later_.'

"_I can hear you rolling your eyes, Smithwright_."

"And I'm telling you, sniff, be teary and they'll fold," he replied, opening the cupboard and grabbing the canister he needed. "Come on, please? It'll totally give me full marks."

There was no answer from the other side of the line and Wyatt knew he was beginning to push his luck on his favorite muse. Sighing, he conceded for now. It wouldn't do if he antagonized Kai enough not to model. "Fine. You win. But try, okay? _Actually try_._"_

"_...No promises_."

Not the answer he wanted to hear but he could settle with it.

"_And I have to go. Tala wants us back at the pit_."

Wyatt wrinkled his nose. _Bleh_. Pits. For the life of him, he didn't understand how these pro-bladers go into their version of boot camp year in, year out. ...Or, then again, he did. Wyatt was a major fan few years back. He dreamed of becoming pro himself but having your brains thrown into a blender by some artificial spirit beast tended to point you to another career path. Well. At least he got Kai's friendship out of it.

"All right, have fun," he said, placing the bowl down on his kitchen counter, "Oh and the twins are gonna meet you in Moscow."

"_Why? I can wear a wig._"

Wyatt tutted, wagging his index finger from side to side as if Kai could see him. "One week in Greece in a wig? Are you _sure_? No, darling. _No, no, no_. Photo shoot, well deserved R&R and looking fabulous while you're at it. It's just what the doctor ordered. _Plus_, you actually love being pretty, admit it."

He chuckled, almost seeing Kai pout, and heard her captain's distant holler. "Well, princess, as much as I want to keep you for myself, I'm setting you free. And you'll be fine. I'm sure your BFF will come around."

"_He's not my BFF_._"_

"Mhmm. Keep telling yourself that, darling."

"_You're annoying_."

"I love you too," he couldn't help but tease.

"_I'm putting my phone down._"

"Give that hottie Spencer my—"

The line went dead and Wyatt laughed to himself. Kai was fun to tease, all right. It was especially true after he accidentally discovered what could be the biggest scandal in the Beyblading community if word ever got out.

He was not so delusional as to say he became Kai's sorority sister because of it, no. The other teen still kept him at arm's length despite him knowing. However, an arm's length was closer than anyone could ever hope to go near the usually tetchy blader.

They were friends, Wyatt could say as much, though. Not bosom buddies but Kai would sometimes share things that he knew weren't normally on the other teen's teeny tiny sharing table. It didn't happen often but it was more than what most people could claim. And, besides, who else even had exclusive dibs on having the Hiwatari heiress as their personal Barbie doll?

"Only me," Wyatt smiled to himself and dropped two pinches of cream of tartar into his mix and added another as an afterthought. The idea of having his muse soon gave an extra bounce to his steps as he searched around his kitchen for an electric mixer. A new idea had formed in his head and the thought of going through his current boyfriend's dare was quickly becoming unappealing. Meringue was meringue, manually done or not. The dare could just take a hike. He had better things to fill his day now.

:::

Bryan watched the dark blue blade endure Falborg's hits, sharp, loud pings of metal clashing overpowering the natural sounds of the white tundra, attack rings grinding against each other causing sparks to fly. "Keep at it, Falborg," he called out, the blue-green blade obeying him without fail. He lifted his eyes to his training partner. Kai was panting from effort, beads of sweat sliding down her unmarked face, their surrounding lukewarm. She was crumbling under the strain of his continuous attack, he could tell. He gave a quick check on his timer; it told him that she had already gone thirty seconds over her previous time and counting. Bryan gave it another fifteen or so before she reached her limit.

He felt a swell of heat breeze over his face in addition to the warm haze that had gradually developed in the course of their training session. He took it as a sign that Kai finally reached the apex of her new attack and was about to unleash it. Bryan hid a small smirk. Oh no you don't. He motioned for his blade to retreat until the edge of the inverted dome pit with a tightly closed fist. Nobody did say he couldn't make it more challenging to the blader, now did they?

"Falborg!"

The blade rushed down as a blue-green streak in a collision course straight to Dranzer. It collided with a resounding cling and knocked the other blade up to the air. Kai yelped at the hit, her legs folding under her while her blade landed at the opposite side of the pit, wobbling for a second before righting itself and maintained its steady rotation. The heat dissipated almost instantly. Bryan hit the time.

"Close," Bryan quipped. "But not quite."

Kai picked herself from the ground, color dusting her cheeks from the exertion. "It wasn't," she panted.

"Wasn't what?"

"Dranzer needed more time. What's my...?"

Bryan's smirked turned into a thoughtful frown. He glanced again at his stopwatch and made a quick calculation that Kai lasted forty one seconds more than her last record. "Seven minutes and thirty nine point two-O," he answered.

The girl looked thoughtful as she rubbed her arm, seeming cold. Bryan frowned for a different reason all together. She was cold in three layers of clothing, a jacket and _his_ jacket on top of it? And a scarf no less?

"Serious talk. How much time do you really need?"

"At least twelve."

"_What the fuck?_"

Bryan stared at her like she grew another head. That was goddamn insane! Her crazy bit beast was demanding she'd play sitting duck for twelve _fucking_ minutes. "Your flaming chicken's mad," he said out loud just so she could hear it herself.

Kai gave him a withering glare but did not deny the accusation. "I want to try again," she said instead.

Bryan lifted a hand up to the level of his head. "Falborg." The blade spun backwards and flew to his waiting hand. "Good luck with that because I don't." She was already pushing herself to rags. They needed a break. "I want lunch and my goddamn balls are going to fall off if we stay here for another minute."

Kai opened her mouth but Bryan held a hand in a stopping motion, pocketing Falborg with the other. "I'm hungry, woman, and so are you. I'm not doing squat until I have at least two burritos sitting in my gut."

The girl pinched her mouth and probably thought she was making a fierce expression. Well, tough that. With her hair literally down and no ridiculous doodles on her face all she managed was a pout. She was as harmless as a spitting kitten to Bryan at this point.

"Come on," he said, trudging down to the path, snow crunching under his heavy boots, and mussing Kai's hair on the way. The girl swatted his hand away irritably and gave him her patented glare. It was a conditioned response he had gotten back only recently after this whole Kai was a girl blew up on their asses.

He was glad to have it back.

The first week of the whole 'she's a girl' thing had been awkward at best, stiff and tense at worse. Kai would freeze up and have that deer caught in headlights look when Bryan gathered enough wit to try anything that would signify touching.

Bryan didn't like it. If things continued as they were, Kai would withdraw from them. From him and Tala, to be more exact. She was okay with Spencer. The blond was awkward and clumsy but he tried his best and didn't thread on eggshells with her. Bryan could admit that he was avoiding her and any physical contact burned. Their bantering was reduced into short pathetic bursts and there was no real bite to their forced insults. Tala was the worst. It was like he had a max quota of three words to Kai a day. So much for making this year a blast. All that talk about not making a big deal out of it a big pile of bullshit, too. From the four of them, Ian was the only one who barely batted an eyelash and continued as he was causing Kai to stick to him the most.

It was also Ian who pulled the three of them to a side when Kai went in for an early night and began lecturing them. _Lecturing them! _

Spencer got off scot-free, but him and Tala? They received a long list of litany and accusing glares. Ian even managed to exude _disappointment_ for them.

"It's still Kai, you dolts. And I'll kick your balls, Tal, if she moves into my room because you can't get your shit right. See if I don't."

Was what he said in the end. Of course, a single nagging wasn't going to cut it but it got Bryan's ass in gear. If he didn't make the first move, he wouldn't get anywhere with the girl. Kai was that sort of annoying shit that was somewhat passive. If shit hits the fan she'd let shit lie there, do nothing and crawl back into her little comfy holes when shit started getting uncomfortable. If it weren't for Ian and Spencer, really, she probably had packed her bags a long time ago and flew off to wherever, the World Championships could just suck it.

He was only about to start making changes when Ian had the bright idea to give him a shove in the right direction, or rather he shoved Kai to Bryan like an outdated version of iPhone. Ian then proceeded to order him to be Kai's partner in training that new move of hers because trying it out with another endurance type of blade was stupid and wasted both their times, now get to it dumbasses, please and thank you. Kai was a bit late on the uptake but Byran immediately bit into the chance. Beyblading was neutral ground. No shit mattered when you were blading. It was what they ultimately all had in common, their shitty childhood in the Abbey did not count. After that, the rest just fell into their right places.

Bryan breathed insults and sarcasms like he did air and would go an extra mile to offend you, your mother and your grandmother and her dog when he could had just left it at a simple 'you suck.' He was an asshole and it was useless to attempt or even unconsciously attempt to censor himself no matter how awkward he found a situation. An asshole will always be an asshole. At their first training session, he started with the pathetic stuff, the usual fanfare of 'that all you can do?' to 'you really do suck,' then things got a little personal. Kai had gnashed her teeth at him when he quite eloquently told her that she was such a two-bit blader that it was no wonder that hers and Kinomiya's scoreboard was set in a perpetual draw. Before Bryan knew it, he and Kai were already spitting barbs and hisses at each other over dinner. If it weren't for Spencer's meddling, realization wouldn't probably kick him in the balls that they were back to normal and nothing had changed. Kai was a girl, sure, understatement of the year, but _nothing_ had really changed. Kai was still the same grouchy, higher-than-though prick he knew and he was an absolute _moron_ to let having tits and a vagina make him forget that. A celebratory hair messing was in order and having his hand swatted like an annoying fly, then, even if it had stung very much so, had never been so satisfying.

The morning after that, he, Spencer and Kai went down town to get a few supplies and pick up some legal documents. During the drive Bryan had taken the time to actually study Kai on the rear view mirror. Spencer didn't notice the scrutiny, busy as he was with driving, nor did Kai who was reading another book for her so and so test.

She was parading as a boy again and now that Bryan knew what was under that fuzzy, knitted shirt and baggy pants it was really stupid to mistake her as one. For one thing, she never developed any muscles, not really, toned was the most you could call her. She wasn't short, too. Bryan had taken on calling her many variations of 'short-stuff' as his term of endearment but he never genuinely thought she was, even when they were all lined up together. He just reasoned that it was because she wasn't stumpy. He ignored it when Ian went pass the tip of her nose. And then there was that trademark scarf of hers. It wasn't some weird itch to be cool like he initially thought, and how cool can you be when you were beybattling in the middle of the Mexican dessert at the height of summer? He annoyed the hell out of her, then, but she kept the scarf wrapped around her neck stubbornly even when she was in the verge of having heat stroke. Now it made more sense because how else could she have hidden her obviously missing Adam's apple?

There were other million of things too, small things, but seeing her, really seeing her, it was now harder to think of her a boy than a girl.

They split ways when they arrived at town. Bryan watched the teen go and get blocked by a couple of strangers on the opposite side of the street, probably asking directions but most likely for an autograph. Bryan considered it for a moment, shifted his perspective, making the strangers into two guys and Kai as she were in the cabin. An unexplainable need to smash the strangers' faces on the pavement came to Bryan so ferociously that it made him see red. That was his little sister they were getting frisky with!

"Hey Spencer, where did Kai said she was studying again?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Cambridge, why?"

"Any chance you'd study your shit wherever that is? I'll chip in however much you want."

Spencer only threw his head back and laughed then walked towards the hardware store leaving Bryan yelling after him that he was fucking serious. In hindsight, the blond probably figured out what went on his head back then.

Bryan finally reached the cabin and paused at the front porch to remove his scarf and gloves before proceeding straight to the kitchen. Kai closed the door behind her and followed him until the living room. Bryan peeked from the kitchen and saw her slumped over the long couch, eyes closed and did not bother hanging any of her coats nor removing her gloves and scarf.

"Hey, no napping before lunch," he said.

"Mmnnt. Just sh...n m..yes."

Like he would believe her when she slurred worse than a drunk, but he let the girl rest and went back to the kitchen to get the food ready. He sighed. He hoped all this hard work was worth it. As it was, he didn't see it as an effective weapon if Kai was alone in the dish. She was better off with her old signature moves. There was a sixty-forty chance they'd get countered by bladers from the top teams but at least they wouldn't get her play target practice.

Bryan popped the lunch Spencer made that morning into the microwave. It was no burrito but the beef stew thing would do. He punched out the digital timer to three minutes and watched it ticked by, not really thinking about anything. The microwave's timer made a long thin beep that brought Bryan back from his daze. He put out two plates on the table and some day old loaves that he was too lazy to heat up. His stomach was already growling now that he was smelling food. He went out of the kitchen to collect his lunchmate only to find out that the she was truly asleep now. He shook her by the shoulder and was only rewarded by incoherent mumblings. She must have been drained enough to sleep like a log, she usually was a light sleeper. Ah, whatever, she could eat lunch when she wakes up. Bryan padded towards the fireplace and tossed a few more wood to feed the flames and then went upstairs to collect a quilt for Kai.

The others returned well after Bryan had finished his meal and was already in the middle of configuring Falborg in the kitchen, the falcon's attack rings and weight disks lined in neat rows on the table. The three were unusually quiet with Ian whispering to Spencer about food. Bryan figured that Kai was still asleep as to the reason of such civilized manners else there would be a lot of stomping and whining from the shrimp. Bryan pointed at the microwave and the three got their lunches orderly, settling themselves on random chairs around the table, and then ate in relative silence. Tala asked about their progress in training in which Bryan gave a shrug and said he was downgrading Falborg's attack for later. The red head nodded thoughtfully before saying that he should try making the weight disk heavier next time. It would make his attacks less precise but pack more punch and at least he'll get training out of it as well.

Bryan wasn't much for heavy blades. They compromise with the speed of the spin and Falborg was a dedicated offense type of blade, he needed that spin. But then if he could make it work with a heavier blade, precision and bludgeoning effect, a sadistic combination that was really up in his alley, then going against those posh European shits wouldn't be so much like hiking a mountain on your knees... He'd give it more thought and ask Spencer about it later.

Ian and Spencer finished their lunches and told them they were going ahead to the pits to train. Bryan only waved at them carelessly while he cleaned his blade's spin gear, Tala was beside him doing the same while drinking coffee.

"There's some gab that PBB's got new cores," Tala remarked absently.

"Changes nothing. They'll still lose," Bryan replied offhandedly.

The American team spits 'new and improved' shits faster than smartphones nowadays. Whatever. A superior blade had nothing against a superior blader. Sure the Americans were among the top but them Blitzkriegs were made from different material and sturdier shit. Besides, their own R&D weren't lying around, frolicking and wasting Kai's money. They were improving and making new shits for them too. While they weren't as fast at least when they do give them new shits the team could be sure that it was tested, double-triple-nth checked and readied ways before any tournaments. Their team never had a 'fucking shit!' moment in the middle of their matches because of factory defects cropping up or they were too inexperienced to handle an upgrade.

"Say, Bryan..."

Bryan grunted to say he was listening.

"Ah. Never mind."

Bryan paused, glancing up to the red head, before dropping his gaze back to blade and resumed cleaning. "Out with it."

"I forgot something in the Hummer."

The chair barely made a sound when it scraped on the floor as Tala stood up. Bryan placed Falborg's performance tip on the table and gave him a piece of his mind, his voice carrying easily across the kitchen. "Ask yourself if her being a chick is more important than her being family, Tal, that's all there is to say."

Tala only paused by the doorway and then went on his way. Bryan wasn't worried that Tala wouldn't take his words seriously, he only wished that he wouldn't take so damn long to digest it.

As it turned out, Bryan's words didn't take that long to have an effect. In his next training session with Kai, Tala was present. The two were awkward for the first few segments but the familiarity of going through the motions of captain giving pointers to members gave them solid ground. And then solid ground meant squat after training. It was like without blading buffering them from each other they would take a step back from whatever progress they made and give each other the silent treatment. Ian would attempt to kick them back to gear but Bryan and Spencer was always there to stop him. Shoving those two together would only likely make one or both to bolt. They were already talking while in the beydish, the next would be out of it. Ian was only in a funk because Kai eventually did move in to his room. Unfortunately Spencer was there to lift him up by the back collar of his shirt before he could deprive the world of Tala's genes.

Five days after being roomies, Ian finally snapped and spent the evening sulking, stuffing himself with junk food and liberal amounts of vodka while he picked at and insulted movies stored in the flat screen's memory. Tala didn't bother telling him off since the following day was an off day, not that he would regardless when they were in this particular cabin. Ian was a true son of a bitch when he was denied access to the internet thus preventing him to rant his woes to the whole world through social media garbage. The day the moron discovered fucking instagram was a. _Fucking_. _Nightmare_. Later that night, Bryan spotted Kai standing in front of her old room and Tala leaning against its doorframe. He quickly backtracked and flattened himself along the wall of the stairwell to listen in. It must be some time after the shrimp had crawled into bed seeing as he was no longer downstairs.

"I can't get any studying done," he heard Kai say.

"You shouldn't even. Bed now. Study all you want tomorrow."

There was a raspy quality in Tala's voice indicating that he was woken up from his sleep. Bryan peeked from behind the wall and saw Kai not moving from her spot even when Tala went back and left the door open. Bryan was very much tempted to shove her in himself when a few moments ticked by while she did nothing.

"You waiting for an invitation or what?" rang Tala's impatient voice suddenly.

Nothing happened again for a short while before Kai finally seemed to comprehend what Tala had said. She went inside cautiously and then closed the door noiselessly behind her.

Bryan was grinning all the way back to his bed and long after he settled back under his heavy covers. "Tomorrow will be a fucking good day," he said out loud and was promptly shushed by Spencer.

Come morning, they were greeted by a sight they hadn't seen in weeks. Kai was curled on the three seater couch, book on lap and steaming mug of tea in one hand, while Tala was seated on his usual spot on the single seater on her right, back hunched over the low table, being his OCD-self as he cleaned Wolborg with Q-tips and an equally steaming mug of coffee beside the cans of cleaning oil. Ian bumped into them at the stairs sporting a shiny new black eye.

"Worth it?" Spencer asked him.

The shrimp peered down the stairs and saw Tala and Kai in their natural habitat. He grinned cheekily at them. "Totally."

The heavy atmosphere smothering the team gradually lightened up and their two troublesome morons were beginning to get back the semblance of their usual ways with one another. It was a far cry from what they had before but they were getting there.

Bryan didn't care for small victories but he'd take all of them this one time.

:::

Spencer loaded the last of their duffle bags at the back of the Hummer, the evening chill beating down on his back. Tonight marked the beginning of their one week break before training continues until the official registrations for the tournament. He knew at least two of the boys were unwilling to take a breather but he honestly didn't care for their sentiments on the matter. Cabin fever was already making itself cozy for having spent the last two months and a half in a mountain with their nearest neighbor ten miles away. It wasn't a hardship to take a step back and refresh. Besides, Tala and Ian didn't have much choice after Kai made quick work of hers and Bryan's blades when she finally managed to successfully execute her new attack. Melted cores were the least of their worries, however. Nobody was happy with its fallout and it was out of the question to put it in their strategy. Spencer preferred that she never use it.

Much to their displeasure, though, she made them agree that she can use it as last resort. He didn't know if Kai realized it but she can now make them do things. Compel was the right word if he wanted to be specific. Part and parcel of being the younger and only girl in their ragtag family, he suspected.

Same day after that mishap in their training, their R&D contacted Kai and informed that there will be a new line of blades for them to use. The head developer excitedly relayed that they will be ready in a week's time. Kai then took it as a chance to announce that she was needed elsewhere and she will be back in time for the new blades to arrive.

Bryan was the one to pry about her so called business and so now here they were, on their way to vacation. Tala had the brightest idea of drafting a routine for physical training while there, weight circuits among other things, but Spencer outright told him to leave him out of it. He'd rather spend his vacation enjoying the Grecian beach and eating local delicacies, maybe even some yachting if they were able to rent one. Bryan immediately backed him up and they roped Ian into their cause by baiting him with tourists' spots that he could put in that picture diary or some such of his.

Spencer pushed down the trunk door, satisfied when he heard the latch locking into place with a heavy _thunk_. He walked up to the driver's seat and settled himself behind the wheel. Kai had already made herself comfortable beside him, tapping something into her tablet. The girl probably felt him staring as she looked up moments later.

"I'm outlining my paper," she said, pushing the bridge of her plastic frames—the only thing out of place in her guise—up her nose, playing nonchalance and failing at it, "It's a requirement for enrolees..."

Kai may unconsciously had them under her thumb but Spencer took satisfaction that he can still make her squirm without actually doing or saying anything. The same would apply to everybody else and it was a continuous source of annoyance that Spencer was loath to give up.

Spencer nodded, stopping his scrutiny, and Kai went back to what she was doing, albeit a bit wary. Ian dived into the back seat shortly after, Bryan and Tala following him and settled themselves on the other side of the youngest. Bryan was to take over from him in their twelve hour road trip to the airport but was more likely to fall asleep when doing nothing but burn a hole on the upholstery and so Kai was promoted to the front seat. They would have let Tala behind the wheel but he had the problem of having everybody's grandmother and aunt speed pass him. Ian was a better driver but lacked the license and Kai... She was just _incapable_ of learning how. She was lucky to have drivers at her beck and call.

He turned the key in the ignition, bringing the engine to life with a low steady purr, checked if everything was in order, lights—good, breaks... everything, good, and then began their trip back to Moscow. When they reached the freeway, Ian reached to the player and plugged one of his iPhones. A preppy, upbeat tune blasted from the speakers and an unmistakable female voice sang of what people say.

"_Swift? Seriously? _Ian?" Bryan's voice dripped of disgust.

"What? She's hot—_haters gonna hate, hate, hate._"

Spencer ignored Ian's wailings and Bryan's grumbling, all too used to the two's antics. He checked up on Tala from the rear view mirror and then paid his full attention back on the road. The red head was already asleep, his head leaning on the window, two tiny yellow buds peeking from his ears.

The two quieted down eventually, falling asleep with their heads touching, and it was down to him and Kai who was still busy with her outline. She was bobbing her head slightly to the songs, her lips mouthing the lyrics silently. Spencer couldn't help but snort in amusement. Kai Hiwatari as seen in sports magazines and international stage lip singing to Taylor Swift.

"What?" she asked, defensive.

Spencer allowed another glance at her direction, seeing her cheeks color at having been caught. He was feeling generous at the moment and decided to spare her embarrassment of having to explain herself. "Who did you say we were meeting in Greece?"

"_I'm_ meeting in Greece."

He didn't deign her with a reply and overtaken another car. She'll talk in her own time.

"How do you do that?" she asked, annoyed, proving Spencer's point.

Spencer gave an easy grin. "It's a gift."

They had overtaken another car and the current song ended, the strum of guitar replacing the electronic beats. Spencer tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, following the beat, actually recognizing the song, having heard it from the radio more times than he cared.

"I'm meeting Wyatt," Kai said eventually, putting away her pad and sliding onto her seat in a more comfortable position. "He needs help with that photo book of his. Some project he said."

Spencer hummed, letting her know he was listening.

"He was a classmate. Stalked me for a bit, and I should had just really taught him blading from the start. It wouldn't be that much trouble, he had good instincts for it."

"What happened?"

"The short story? He got involved with a Boris wannabe," she spat the bastard's name like a curse. "Almost got himself killed, but he pulled through, if barely," she shook her head softly, sighing thinly. "He spent a good while in psych-ward after that."

"It wasn't your fault," Spencer said, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I know," she replied. Spencer heard her unspoken words never the less. "He's better now, that's the good thing."

Spencer agreed, nodding. "Tell me when you need protecting, I'll come equip with a straight jacket."

Kai chuckled quietly. "If we're talking about the same Wyatt, you'd be needing that protecting for yourself, Petrov."

A companionable silence settled between them, both content on watching Russia's white country side zip by. The playlist ended and another western band replaced the female country singer. He and Kai both nodded softly to the band's music, agreeing without words that they preferred One Republic's soft rock better than Taylor Swift's breakup songs.

Bryan took over the wheel when they stopped over at a gas station with a diner, Spencer calling for a break after five or so hours of straight driving. They ate an uneventful late night snack with only one, two fans recognizing them and asked for autographs. It only took them a little over half an hour before they hit the road again. Spencer only closed his eyes for a second and then the next thing he knew they were already driving with Moscow's early morning traffic.

They drove straight to the airport and proceeded to the service road leading to the private hangars, only getting blocked momentarily at the checkpoint for some IDs. Kai flashed them a VIP kind of card and they were let through without further interruptions.

Kai's ground crew greeted them when they arrived, making quick work of their bags and loading them in one of Kai's private jets efficiently. The plane was the biggest, and no doubt the most expensive, Kai had and was used by the team during Beyblade season. A man in uniform, the flight captain, whispered something to Kai that had her nodding her head. Spencer followed the others in boarding the plane without further ado, assuming that the man was just informing her of the flight plan.

Nothing was out of the norm when they boarded the plane. Same authentic leather upholstery, plush side couches, furry carperting, polished lacquer table tops, the smell of luxury drilling in his nose and the two women who were impossible to tell apart that were for all intents and purposes unpacking long strands of two tones of blue hair that was the exact same shade as Kai's. Spencer blinked, both women blinked back at them. It was a second before the two squealed and gushed something about Kai convincing them.

"I didn't," came Kai's voice behind Spencer, "They're going for sightseeing. _Only_."

The two women visibly drooped but quickly regained their composures and ambled towards their group. One of them stuck a hand at their direction. "Sasha Holister," she said by way of introduction and then jabbed a thumb behind to point at the other one who was tucking her pin straight brown hair behind an ear, "That's Cloe, my twin. We're your little lady's dedicated hairdressers."

Bryan took her hand and gave it shake, "Bryan," he said as if in daze.

The woman, Sasha, looked at them expectantly with dark grey eyes and Spencer belatedly realized that she was waiting for him and the rest to introduce themselves. Before Ian could do that, however, Tala suddenly turned around sharply and hurriedly sat himself on one of the one seater couches near the cockpit thusly putting the greatest distance the plane could allow between him and them. Spencer clenched his jaw.

"Did I say something wrong?" the woman asked, tugging consciously at her scarf, clearly feeling the tension that dropped on them like a bomb.

Ian gave a forceful laugh, "Nah, he's just constipated. Ian, by the way, nice to meet you."

"Spencer," he only said and checked on Kai. Her profile was tensed as she stared at the back of Tala's head.

Spencer squeezed Kai's shoulder but she shrugged him off and went where the twins were, her steps rigid. He resisted the urge to drag his hand up his face. He thought they were already all right, not quite there yet but already passed the point where a surprise would overturn their boats. He allowed himself to heave a breath. It seemed he needed to assert his position as the eldest again. He cannot allow those two to continue this—whatever _this _was that was preventing them to finally be all right with each other.

The two women regained their bubbly antics the moment Kai joined them, talking nonstop about the latest gossip in their circle and some such. Kai never let out a peep and allowed them to lead her at the end most seat of the plane where they had setup a makeshift work station. The women seemed unfazed. Bryan and Ian followed them and settled themselves on the side-couch nearest to the three, asking questions about their work as they sat. Spencer sat himself to the other side-couch nearest to the cockpit so he could keep a close eye on Tala and spare half an ear to the proceedings at the back.

Later, after they had eaten takeouts brought by the co-pilot for breakfast, the flight captain entered the plane and announced that they will depart in a few minutes and all loose objects should be secured before so. The twins gave him an 'ok' signal with their hands and did just that. They strapped a black trolley with numerous drawers on the floor and then proceeded to assemble some kind of contraption with a helmet before that too was firmly secured to the floor. The captain's voice filtered again through the speakers when the plane was about to leave the hangar and instructed them to fasten their seatbelts. Spencer did as he was told with minimal fuss. The plane took off from the ground shortly and the outsiders of their group were eager to subject Kai in their plans of gluing another human's hair to her own as ridiculous as that sounded.

"It's cold fusion, honey," one of the twins corrected when Ian commented on the gluing. "Best there is."

"You mean most expensive shit," Bryan said.

Both twins laughed. "Nobody said it was cheap," said one, Spencer couldn't really tell which. "And pish-posh. You boys won't get it but every girl loves having fabulous hair. Ms. Hiwatari here is no exception."

Spencer looked at them, various alien looking tools now laid out on the side table, and then waited for Kai's reaction. She ignored them steadfastly and Spencer knew it wasn't because she was embarrassed at having another facet of hers that was buried under the bad boy persona she created for the public revealed. Bryan and Ian were sure to notice and quickly changed subjects. The twins didn't suspect a thing and continued their work in sync.

"It was really a shock the first time we were hired for her. She didn't ask for us per se, but you know Wyatt? Yes? ...No? Well the darling hooked us up. You'll meet him when we land. He's a total doll."

"I'm glad you boys are so well adjusted," a quick laugh, "With us, the only thing stopping us from being absolute airheads back then was pride. And thank Jesus for that. I mean we're professionals. The Miss isn't the first high profile client we had and airheads? Super not okay. It's just not the done thing to do, you know?"

Spencer let the chatter go over his head and pinned Tala with his eyes, gauging the red head if he had been listening in as well. If strangers could accept Kai as she was, why couldn't he? The red head didn't show any signs of noticing as he continued to glare at the floor as if the dark carpeting gravely offended him. Spencer crossed his arms across his chest and gave up for now and idly watched the clouds go by from the small window. He wouldn't wait normally but there were outsiders in their midst and he couldn't very well chastise either younger bladers of their misbehavior. That kind of talk was strictly for their family's ears only.

Their flight went without any problems save from the minor turbulence they experienced halfway in their trip. The twin's chatter and Bryan's and Ian's occasional inputs provided an easy background noise. After four hours in the air, with the twins applying the final touches of their work, the captain's voice spoke from the speakers again and announced that they were to land.

When the plane taxied to another hangar bearing the Hiwatari Enterprise's logo and it was safe to board off the plane, the twins all but pushed him and the rest of the team out and herded Kai to the small toilet to change. Bryan and Ian took the time to make heads and tails out of what had just happened before they started down the stairs to wait for their last member. Tala followed them without word.

Spencer thought that he finally had the chance to pull Tala to the side and ask what in God's good name happened earlier and if he was seriously trying to push Kai away. Spencer instead was dismayed to find a mousy looking brown haired teen waiting for them on the ground. The boy was wearing an easy grin and was dressed appropriately for the summery climate of Greece with his dark sunglasses and thin white cotton shirt and dark shorts. One of Kai's rich acquaintances, no doubt.

"Wyatt," the boy said, making a beeline straight to Spencer, ignoring the rest of the team. The boy pushed his shades down to look at him appraisal. Spencer found himself replacing his initial ire with uneasiness. The boy gave him a sticky smile-smirk. "I must say, you're hotter in person. _Way hotter_. Television doesn't give you justice, no_pe_."

Bryan and Ian started guffawing at his expense. Spencer suffered it with as much dignity as he possibly could and resolutely didn't pay them mind as he parked himself beside Tala. Fortunately the Wyatt kid threw his attention to the pair of idiots and the three were soon exchanging niceties that had Spencer worrying for his sanity for the days to come. Spencer sighed, forcing his embarrassment to flow out. He cleared his throat to announce his presence to Tala, reconditioning himself to the problem at hand.

"You, me and Kai are going to talk later, Tala," he said. The red head ignored him. Spencer kept his temper in check. "Are you listening, Tala?"

There was no indication that the red head had heard him, much less listening. Spencer was on the verge of shaking the younger man to his senses and he almost did if he didn't pause in amazement as Tala suddenly mumbled the words he, Bryan and Ian were dying to hear the past month. He said it so quietly that Spencer was half convinced he was imagining it.

"I have a sister," Tala repeated, a bit clearer, a bit more louder. He was shaking his head in clear wonder as he stared at the commotion that had erupted when the twins paraded Kai in her new clothes.

"_I have a sister_."

Spencer could only blink back his surprise at the sudden change of wind around Tala. He watched him walk towards the unsuspecting group and bodily grabbed Kai by the arm and pulled her in quite surely the tightest hug that he had ever given anyone in his life.

The moment was perfectly preserved, everybody understood what the gesture meant and none wanted to intrude. Tala had tucked Kai under his chin and whispered soft apologies on top of her head. Kai only scoffed, not quite hiding the bright little smile that tugged her lips, and said something back that Spencer didn't hear. Spencer caught Bryan and Ian's eyes, both were grinning ear to ear and he found himself sharing their glee. It seemed like there was no need to meddle after all. He looked back at the pair again and couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped him.

It figured that all it would take for Tala to finally right himself and resume his role as her brother and friend was to see Kai in a skirt. Now Spencer would only have to worry about keeping Tala in line when he realize that his new sister was quite eligible to date.

:::

**Chapter Two**

**End**

:::

I hope you guys made yourselves comfortable earlier because that was a damn long chapter. Special thanks to: **grandprincessanastasiaromanov5**, **Hibisha**, **Rapunzelle **and **Kadralael** for giving this story a chance and giving feedback, either in review or alert/favorite. And don't think I'm forgetting you lurkers, you~! I saw the views and I thank everybody for giving this story a chance. I wasn't expecting any recognition nor any pings from this fandom but you guys proved me wrong. So, thanks.

If anyone was lost in the transition of the scenes please let me know so I can do something about it.

**End Notes (Important)**

**1. **Character Ages (Blitz) – Tala – 21; Bryan – 21; Spencer – 23; Kai – 18; Ian 16. Please base the other characters' ages using this as guideline.

**2. **Names – will use original Japanese surnames for Tyson and Tala, meaning Kinomiya and Ivanov respectively.

**3. **Appearance – Kai will get back her (I'm going to refer to Kai as a her now to be consistent) S1 colorings, the rest as they were in S3.

**4. **Character Backstory – childhood in the Abbey, check. However nothing over the top where the boys were beaten an inch to their lives and are left God knows how long before someone puts a measly band-aid on a broken rib. _Seriously_. Guys. Nor there will be talk about being cyborgs or other ridiculous some such. They all seem pretty much 100% organic in S3.

Wyatt Smitwright, Kai's fanboy in S2, is alive and no longer mentally unstable. He got better in this universe the how will be explored probably in a separate one shot as I don't see it having any import in the main story as of yet. If there is clamour for it I'll do it, if not then come what may, yeah?

In the wiki, Tala was said to be older than Bryan by two years. I will disregard this fact(?). It was also said that they met on the streets but, again, this will be disregarded.

**5. **Beyblade mechanics – not an expert. Pardon any mistakes in physics as I am describing this part of the series in the most sensible way for me. Corrections will be much appreciated.

**6. **Genre – 70% Friendship, 20% Romance and 10% Everything else. Question(s) about any pairings will neither be confirmed nor denied.

**7.** Chapter 1 has been proofread and cleaned; changes are listed on the end notes in that chapter, nothing too serious that it will need a reread. Apologies for the first readers who read the out of the oven version, I'm sure it must have been trying.

_Annnnd _alright! That wraps up my quite possibly last major end note. Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Update will take longer now as I will be busy with other things this week and so writing (as in chapter writing) is banned until I get them done. Will probably do an outline first before ch3 so I can keep better track of the story flow before we get into this deeper.

Keep it cool, guys.

-mimic


	3. Chapter 3

**The Best Thing**

This year is the World Championships. This year is going to be their last. They'll kick asses, show those losers. They won't settle for anything but a royal flush. This season will end with a bang, Blitzkrieg Boys' style. Rule 63. FemKai. Rated T for the boys' mouths.

**:::**

Proofread by my sis.

See notes at the end.

**:::**

**Chapter Three**

**:::**

"Yes, _abuela,_ I'll call you when I get there... I love you too, bye."

Miguel tapped the end call button on the screen and then pulled the cords of his buds down. He allowed a smile to finally lift the corners of his mouth. He could always count on his grandmother to know what to do or say. _Abuela_ was heaven sent. She was his only saving grace in the _hacienda._

"Good afternoon, passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement of flight 717 to Heraklion..."

Miguel straightened down the collar of his button up shirt then hefted his carry-on bag before proceeding to the attendant at the gate to show his ticket for inspection. The sooner he leaves Spain, the better. _Abuela_ was supposed to be the one dealing with their partners in Zakros but she thought it best for him to go in her stead. He agreed in a heartbeat before guilt could get the best of him. This period was crucial. The World Championship Cup was already a measly month away and every day leading to that point should be spent perfecting their moves and strategies. But... He was in desperate need to get out of his father's sight.

The flight attendant dipped her head and gave him a small smile as she hoped him a nice flight. Miguel replied with a friendly smile of his own. The woman's cheeks colored a pretty shade of red.

Originally, it was only going to be a two day business trip but _abuela_ booked him a luxury guest room at Amirandes until the end of the week. She insisted that he needed a break from training and it would give him and his father space to clear their heads. At the very least, they could resume civility to one another when he returned.

Miguel boarded the plane, replying good mornings to the blue clad flight attendants as they greeted him. He jogged up the carpeted stairs and quickly found his seat. There were only two other passengers in the first class section beside him, a woman, probably in her late thirties, and a curly haired little girl kicking her feet in the air in alternative swings. Miguel figured that she must be waiting for her guardian but none came even when their flight was getting to its last minutes of boarding. Only a flight attendant came to ask her if she was comfortable. The girl gave a toothy grin and said yes. Flying alone, then. The little girl caught him observing her and directed her grin at him before hopping out of her seat. She made a beeline towards him then beamed.

"Are you _Señor_ Miguel Lavalier?"

Miguel inclined his head and gave her a smile too. "Why yes, _señorita_, is there anything I can do for you?"

The girl made a high, thin noise of delight and quickly rummaged through her hip bag. She produced a small notebook and a pink pen, presenting them to him eagerly. "May I have your autograph, _por favor_?

"_Sí_, you may," he replied with a flourish as he accepted the offered items, going along with her antics. "A beyblade fan are you, _señorita_?"

"Mmm," the girl shook her head. "My _hermana_ has lots of pictures of you and her birthday is coming. I have yet to figure out what to give her till now."

"Ah," he nodded in understanding and scribbled a run of the mill birthday greeting on the blank page. "What's her name?"

"Esperanza."

Miguel quickly added the name of her sister and signed the message at the bottom. "Here you go. I hope your _hermana_ will like your present."

The little girl thanked him and stashed her signed notebook back to her bag with great care. She thanked him again and skipped back to her seat.

Miguel made himself comfortable and leaned heavily on his seat, the quality upholstery plush against his back. Soon the flight captain's voice filtered through the speakers. Miguel let it pass over his head and buckled his seatbelt for takeoff. He felt his mood getting lighter as they ascend, leaving behind Spain and his problems for now.

:::

A skewer of kebab flew to a plate then a scoop of the cubed pork dish, a pause, before three of those round fried, not-meatball tomato things joined the growing pile of food. Ian watched with growing amusement as Tala put more stuff on the plate beside his until it had every bit of their table's menu. Kai subtly pushed the mini buffet that the red head fixed for her to Spencer, the blond Neanderthal had a tiny eat shitting grin–actually, it was just a slight quirk of the mouth, but, _meh_, that was Spence for you—

Back to the point.

Spencer exchanged it with his plate of greens and mashed eggplant thingy with chickpeas and tomatoes and onions and some other stuff that looked totally disgusting because _eggplant_. Point in fact. But it was so freaking delicious especially when wrapped in still warm pita and eaten with that white savory-garlic-y cream sauce, orange colored chilli sauce and some Greek yogurt-whatever that was making Ian's taste buds come multiple times. Actually everything he shoved in his mouth was making him want to eat everything...

It was official. He loved Santorini.

And he expertly tapped the screen of his iPhone to tweet just that.

"We could see the cathedral and the Gyzi museum," the new comer, a long, white haired French dude that Wyatt called Gillian, said. "Or, we could go to the island now and enjoy the beach."

"Sightseeing," Ian decided for everyone while he instagrammed his lunch.

"You better not be putting any stupid shit in there, shrimp," Bryan said around a mouthful of kebab. He grabbed a fresh stick from the platter to put on Kai's new plate, making her stop eating a forkful of lettuce. "Eat that. You need protein."

Ian snickered. Bryan was doing it more to get Tala's attention rather than worry about her daily nutritional value intake. Kai ate fine. She just preferred vegetables and seafood rather than real meat just like a real girl. Never to disappoint, Tala finally noticed that Spencer was eating Kai's supposed lunch. "Stop spoiling her, Spence," he said. "She already eats like a bird."

"Spencer does not and I do not eat like a bird," Kai snapped.

"Oh, sorry, you're eating grass. A goat, then."

Kai picked up her new kebab and bit into it in clear annoyance, pulling the piece of meat from the stick with her teeth, just so Tala would let her be. Tala gave her his face splitting smirk and scooped up a helping of that orange colored, sweet-savory saucey pork dish. She made a face as the squares of meat flopped messily over her Greek salad. Ian quickly snapped a picture of her. She was none the wiser as she threatened Tala with bodily harm if he puts more crap on her plate and told him to piss off. _Heh_. Epic ninja moves for the win.

"You'd make a great paparazzi, you know," Ms. Layla whispered to him in good humor.

Ian grinned up to the woman beside him. She grinned right back, her green eyes playful and lighted up her whole face. She was a real pretty woman.

They met up with Ms. Layla and Gillian here at the _taverna_, the two adults already in the process of ordering their lunch. Wyatt introduced the latter as the photographer and the former as the makeup artist. The man gave them a cheeky two finger salute while Ms. Layla greeted them with a smile and a small wave, depicting the perfect picture of femininity, all soft planes, pastel colored dress and long, wavy black hair bunched in a simple half pony. She was a whole different species compared to Kai with her airy gestures and light tones.

Sure, Ian could admit that Kai didn't look half bad but she was _Kai_. She was too much like them to be considered as part of the female population. She had the right bits, su_uu_re, but it would be freaking disturbing to consider your kinda sister halfway decent.

_Well._

She did surprise them when the twins paraded her like a blue ribbon Chihuahua back in the airport. Ian shoved another mouthful of the eggplant dish—ah, _ghad_, this stuff was _awe_some. When the twins were finished with Kai, she grew like a foot and half of hair, her trademark shark fins were gone, and she was in a dainty, sleeveless, white one piece floral dress and had a bit chip shaped locket looped around her neck by a long, thin silver chain.

Ian slanted a look at Kai and took in her girl version more seriously. From the slightly high forehead down to her narrow shoulders and how the preppy dress made her look all soft around the edges. Yep. Classic, rich Russian girly girl all right—even when her eye was twitching and she was grinding her teeth in the most non-girly manner while Bryan and Tala did their best to make her snap.

..._Fine. _

She was _okay_ looking and at least they were there to bring out her natural colors. It wouldn't do if anyone had the wrong impression and start comparing her to _flowers, _but so far they were doing a good job at popping any such thoughts. Ms. Layla had already commented that it was her first time seeing Kai so animated, not minding that so called animated tendencies ranged from annoyed to pissed-off-gonna-slug-you-if-you-don't-shut-up-now.

Ian had to take credit for some of that. Getting under her skin was a unique talent exclusive to him, Bryan and Tala.

Spence didn't count because he was _Spence._ He liked to be the 'mature' one.

Ian reached for a kebab of his own and tried it. It tasted like regular grilled meat. _Meh_. Truth in fact, Ian had been really worried about Tala and Kai when he pulled that stint back in Moscow. The idiot was already taking his sweet time adjusting then freaking went and had a relapse. To be fair, Tala always, _always_ had a hard time finding his feet again when something tripped him, especially when he was already so permanently melded in his ways. Ian had thanked Jesus, Buddha and Steve Jobs for whatever miracle pulled his head out his ass. Watching how he fell into his usual moronic self with this dolled up Kai you'd never guess they ever had a kind-of-not-kind-of fight if you can call it that, whatever _that_ was.

There was a click of a camera shutter that made all occupants of the table turn their attention to Gillian. The man only smiled, "Ah, I had to catch the moment_. _The_ messieurs_ and _ma chérie_ seem to be enjoying themselves."

Kai made a noise in her throat but aside from that nobody reacted negatively. "It'd be appreciated if you didn't encourage these monkeys, Mr. Vittore," she said.

"It's a first to see you so lively, _ma chérie_, please do excuse _moi_ for taking liberties," the man replied, putting down his small digicam. "So, then. We go to cathedral, then museum, and then Skala to ride cable cars, _oui_?"

"We're not gonna ride donkeys?" Ian asked.

"Not unless you want to miss the sunset–"

"–Or a good top view of the volcano," the twins answered in tandem, like a practiced skit. Ian already can't tell who was who and now they took their act up a notch with this Fred-and-George impersonation. Those two took identical to a whole new level.

"It's quite pretty, the view up there–"

"–It'd be a shame to miss."

"You girls just don't want to ride the smelly things," Wyatt piped in. The twins shrugged at the same time. "But they're right. If we climb with donkeys, it'll take forever to get up there. Plus," Wyatt took a bite of his puff pastry dessert and took his time chewing and swallowing the thing, "we're going straight to Crete after the photoshoot."

Ian considered it. He was looking forward to riding a donkey but he didn't want to miss the views. They'd be a nice addition to his gallery.

"Ride your donkey on top, pretend you used it to get up there and then get your damn picture. Problem solved," Bryan said as a matter of fact-ly.

"Fine," Ian puffed up, annoyed. Bry was lumping him with those selfie-diots again. "But all of you are gonna ride one too."

Ian left the _or else_ hanging in the air. He had enough blackmail material stored in his phones' memory _and_ iCloud to bury their bad ass image ten times over and they knew it. Spencer didn't really care either way but Tala and Bryan sure did. He didn't really have much on Kai because she was too careful before and Ian can't very well unleash girlKaiVer01. jpg to unsuspecting netizens–but she didn't know that.

Insert evil laugh here–_Mwuahahahahahaha!_

He received glares of torture–Bryan, pain–Tala, and death–Kai and an indifferent Spencer chewing his food. Ian gave them a deadpan look and noisily drank his fresh, pink fruit shake with his straw. _Yeah_, he was the man.

With that decided, lunch was agreed to be concluded after another helping of that puff pastry dessert, _baklava_. Ian didn't eat more of the sweet, nutty pastry and gave Kai his share. Kai didn't decline and lined the extra plate next to her own serving, seemingly forgetting any reservations about some things now. He wasn't sure if he was the only one to notice but Ms. Layla was right. Kai had never been so animated before even when they pushed her way past boiling point nor was she completely relaxed to openly show her annoyance.

Ian watched her slice her dessert into tiny pieces with her fork, taking her time eating it. He was seeing a shortage of freebies from this season's desserts but he couldn't say he minded. He snapped another ninja photo of Kai, the Greek cake paused halfway to her mouth as she commented on something Wyatt had said. She looked genuinely happy–as genuinely happy as her limited positive facial muscles allowed–eating the sugary stuff that Ian was more than willing to give up one of his privileges as the youngest.

After paying the bill, their group piled into two rental cars. Their team, too, was split into two. Spencer and Bryan went with the twins and Gillian, while he, Kai and Tala were with Wyatt and Ms. Laya. Ian voted himself shotgun when he saw Ms. Layla moving to the driver's seat.

The drive was a short fifteen minutes but it was enough time for Tala to annoy the hell out of Kai. The girl stormed off and planted herself beside Spencer when they arrived at the church. Tala was all wolfy grins and made a pest out of himself, not letting up.

"You boys and the miss are quite close, aren't you? It's just so lovely to watch," Ms. Layla giggled.

Ian shrugged carelessly. It was painfully obvious that Tala was trying hard—_too hard—_to make up for being such a douche. Ian took another photo of his team while they monkey around before he fixed his cap to cover his hair and put on his dark tinted visor shades. It was amazing why they still wonder how he had so much dirt on them. They drop all the serious hard ass image the moment they were out of the limelight.

"Just imagine when she starts dating," Wyatt chuckled.

"Like that'll happen," Ian snorted.

Dating. _Pft_. As far as the rest of the world was concerned, Kai was an asexual weed.

When he joined the others, Spencer had already put everyone in order and they were ready to tour. Ian had to snicker when his behemoth of a teammate hid beside Kai's much daintier frame when Wyatt approached, strutting like a peacock, then tried to flirt with the blond. Ian took another picture before coming inside.

The church was just a church, really. The dozens of rows of dark wooden pews, the red carpeting and the glorified altar with its gold painted chalices, relics and whatevers already a familiar sight. Ian gave them props, though. There was still the distinct Grecian theme going on with its arches and pillars and the blue and off white colors. He would have probably appreciated the place more if he hadn't been in the Vatican before. Now _that_, that was a church. They didn't scrimp on anything there, not even the heady whiff of old farts and funky flavored smoke. Picture taking wasn't allowed but Ian's iPhone proudly owned a picture of that nude guy without a dick touching fingers with hobo grandpa carried by angels.

_Epic. Ninja. Moves, baby._

And said epicness was being applied to this Grecian church. The church's management board explicitly said that there were no picture takings to be had inside but Ian would be disappointing his numerous followers if he failed to record his escapades properly. So not cool. Besides, he'd also be missing the golden opportunity of getting more incriminating evidence of Tala, Bryan, Spencer and Kai in their natural state.

Badass his ass. Jazzman didn't know what he was talking about.

Behind all the badassery they show to the adoring mass, the Blitzkrieg Boys were just a bunch of dorks.

–Except him, of course.

Ian took a picture of Tala and Bryan as the two twits were at it again, annoying Kai with fake holy water, Spencer getting hit with the wayward drops from the water bottles. Kai's eye was dangerously twitching again and Ian was sure she was going to slug them church or not but then the twins dragged her towards the altar to show her something. Shame that.

"Why not join them, _monsieur_?" Gillian asked, coming up beside him.

"And miss all this blackmail material? No way, man."

The more he became a wall flower the better. They wouldn't know when he was going to strike. Again. _Epic_ ninja moves.

The man chuckled. Ian didn't think he meant to annoy him but he did. His laugh was the type that said 'I know something you don't,' and Ian hated not knowing.

The man left him alone, Ian continued dogging the morons, snapping pictures he knew he could use against them later. They toured the church's courtyard next and Ian could honestly say that he liked it better than inside.

The Greek motif of the church was more emphasized, the salty sea breeze more pronounced. Dome shaped towers rose up to reach the sky, their caps the distinct blue of Santorini. The pillars showcased Greek symbols and Christian saints. Ian took a picture of the bell tower with a clock at an angle that caught the dome roof of the main infrastructure. He instagrammed it with the caption: _Fira Catholic Church ›:^3 #BlitzVacation #Santorini #Greece_.

After the church they went to the museum by foot and unlike the former, Megaron Gyzi Museum was definitely Greek inside and out. It had the same blue and white color theme going on and had a dome shaped roof, too. Ian took a shot of the museum signage while Tala and others crowded in front of it. The picture would have made a nice post if he didn't need to crop Kai out, but, _meh_, he can post a picture for the museum when he gets another good one.

Inside the museum, various photographs of the island and the other baby islands that made up the Cyclades were showcased. There was a black and white photo of the Aegerean Sea taken from Skala back when it was still the main port. They were going there later and Ian made a note to find the spot where the shot was taken.

Ian was staring up to a Santorini traditional multiple layered folk dress when he felt someone edge into his personal space. He spared the newcomer a glance then turned back his attention to the white, blue, yellow and red thing that made him taste mothballs just by looking at it.

"You're heartless, you know, leaving Spence," he commented. "Wanna bet if I can get pictures of Wyatt jumping him?"

"It's useless to bet on a fact," Kai said in a stride.

"Hmph. You're no fun." Ian moved onto the other display, another layered dress but it had a red, long sleeved coat thingy. Kai moved along with him. "You hiding from the mama wolf?"

"Something like that."

"A_nnn_d the other something?"

"I've never thanked you before."

Ian caught his step. _Say what?_

"Back in the cabin. And for before that," she continued, nonchalant like a boss. Ian could only stare. _Was she?_ "So. What I'm saying is. Thank you. Thank you for not being weird."

_She. Freaking. Did_.

Ian snapped his mouth shut–when did it got unhinged, anyway?–and cracked a wide grin. The impossible just happened. "Am I gonna get a sorry for that black eye too?" he asked sweetly, batting his eyes.

"You deserved that one, Papov."

"It got you and Tala kinda okay."

"You farted on my face. _Repeatedly_."

"It was effective."

"Not the point."

"It s_ooo_ is the point."

"I'm still not apologizing for it."

"Fine. You owe me then," Ian finished cheekily.

Kai narrowed her eyes. "Fine. What do you want?"

Ian stumbled. He was only teasing. Tala and the others had never taken him seriously. Ever.

"Well?"

"You, you... you just can't put me on the spot!" Ian blurted out. He took a second to decide. "I'll have it on a rain check."

"Hn."

They moved together to another section of the museum, Ian filling the space between him and Kai with opinions about the dusty old pieces of pottery and figurines. One of the curators started giving them the stink eye after a particular comment. Ian ignored the stuffy woman. What could he do if it did look like an inverted dick?

It wasn't long before someone came looking for them. Fortunately for Kai's sanity it wasn't the two trolls but the twins. The older women said that everybody was already waiting outside. Ian figured that Tala or Bryan or both did something to get them kicked out. Just the same, it was already 3 PM and they had to get going if they wanted lots of time to enjoy the top of the town.

They arrived at the port half an hour later. Ms. Layla and the twins took a moment to go to a seaside _taverna_ to get a reservation for tonight's dinner. Ian took it as a chance to look for the spot in that photo from the museum. Unfortunately a couple of people recognized them even when they were dressed like any normal tourist with caps and shades to boot. Kai was left blissfully alone with Wyatt and Gillian while they deal with a mini mob asking for pictures, autographs and blading tips. The rest of their group was already back by the time they dealt with the last hyper kid.

The cable car ride will take twenty minutes to the top and that meant sharing cramped spaces with his team. Ian was looking forward to what Bryan and Tala would do to get Kai push them out the window. He was disappointed when the two dolts decided to be normal people and watch the city spread below them.

It wasn't so bad, at least he got to enjoy the view too and get shots of the team that would be really nice to post if he didn't need to crop Kai out. Ian was beginning to discover that, yeah, sure, having a secret sister would mean they could keep her for themselves but it was a major downer to his instagram. Ian posted the cliff side town instead and its cascading rows upon rows of uniform white houses with their occasional blue and red roofs, the deep blue Aegerean Sea set as its background. The very picture of Santorini.

They reached the top and Wyatt and the twins immediately dragged Kai away from their group to answer the calls of shop owners to check out their overpriced merchandise. Tala and Bryan followed suit to look around themselves and made a few purchases. Ian took a picture while they were browsing before he dragged Spencer to look for his donkeys.

Finding a local to rent the barn animal from was a piece of cake and he counted himself lucky when they found a man who could round up five donkeys for them. Ian made Spencer settle the deal to usher their remaining teammates to the donkey man. Bryan made an act of forgetting their earlier deal but Ian flashed a picture that had him passed out beside the toilet, pants _and_ boxers down, his alabaster butt in all its glory up in the air.

"I bet your fans would just love to get a piece of this."

Bryan tried to grab him but Ian was quick to duck behind Spencer, turning him into a shield. Ian cackled at Bryan and told him that he had ten seconds to get Tala and Kai before he sends the photo to their biggest fansite. Bryan got them in record time.

Ian took his time getting on his donkey, more focused on watching and snapping pictures of his teammates. With Spencer it was hilarious. He was bigger than the smelly thing that he weighed it down when he sat on it. It was made more priceless when his feet fell flat on the ground.

Tala helped Kai up to her donkey and she ended up doing a side saddle. Bryan came up from behind the unsuspecting girl and had the bright idea of slapping the animal's rump with a loud, sharp _whap_! The owner scrambled to reign in his wayward donkey, Kai tightly hugging its neck all the while promising slow painful deaths for the two. Tala and Bryan howled and laughed as they ran after her. It was Gillian who stopped the donkey and scolded them for roughly treating a lady but it was pretty obvious the dude found it hilarious too. Wyatt helped a frazzled looking Kai down and had to support her because of shaky knees. Ian _almost_ felt bad but what use was a sister if you can't have fun at her expense, right? Besides the guys could easily catch up to her if it became serious so there was no real danger.

In the end the only ones who really did ride a donkey were Kai and Spencer. Ian didn't mind, he was already happy with his awesome pics and video worth featuring to those most funny videos type of show.

Later, after their exciting escapade, the twins led them to a nice spot to watch the sunset. Ian found himself hanging on the background and tried to find a good angle to view his teammates from. They weren't particularly doing anything. They were just standing there, close to each other, watching the splay of orange, indigo and blue across the horizon. Ian had to take a picture.

Someone cleared his throat behind him. Ian tapped the screen of his phone before he looked up to Gillian. The dude was smiling down at him, his blue eyes kind.

"A photographer's life is very good, _oui_? To glimpse perfection, capture it. Preserve it? _Mm._ _Rien ne pourrait être plus épanouissante._ However," Gillian gazed ahead, Ian followed as it rested on his team, "It can be a lonely one, _non_?"

Ian remained silent and then Spencer inclined his head towards his direction, wordlessly asking him to join them.

"A moment captured is gift to be given to anyone who wish it, _monsieur_, but living, sharing that moment with them. Only few have special privilege."

The man nudged him gently at the back, making him step forward. Ian looked back at him and Gillian only nodded. His feet moved on their own accord and made him take his place among his family, a deep sense of nostalgia hitting him as he stared at the same view they were watching. It wasn't the same place nor circumstance but, once upon a time, back in one of those few rare good days in the Abbey, he, Spencer, Tala, Bryan and Kai had shared a sunset quite like this.

Spencer's large hand landed gently on his head, Ian turned his attention to the elder but the blond had his gaze fixed ahead. He glanced at the others and caught their eyes before they too continued watching the horizon. He turned his attention outward again and thought the French dude might be on to something underneath the cheesy Hallmark worthy speech. Ian soaked in the moment he was in, warmth gently touching his face, the salty cool breeze wrapping around him and just the simple completeness he felt with these morons beside him.

A smile wormed its way to his face, unbidden but welcomed.

Morons, _pft, _yeah, but they were his precious morons.

**:::**

Tala blindly groped for his wristwatch on the bedside table then brought the thing up to his face. He blearily cracked his eyes to see the time and felt his temper give a minute spike. Even with the sound of gently lapping waves from the nearby shore and being comfortably settled in his bed in this cool, dark room, the hands of his sport's watch successfully annoyed him by merrily pointing out the ungodliness of the hour. He squinted around the room to find what interrupted his sleep and found his roomie rummaging through her bags.

"What are you doing, Kai? It's two in the morning," he grumbled.

"Go back to sleep, Tala."

Tala brushed his hand up his head, scratching his scalp with the pads of his fingers, his mind catching up that this was typical Kai behavior. She was always like this when they were in a new place. Often restless, anxious at times. He padded towards his duffle bag, the scratchy, soft material of the carpet cushioning his steps, and then pulled out one of his shirts finding the whole—_Huh_.

When he still thought Kai as his younger brother, he found the behavior kind of endearingly cute. It was troublesome but it was just too damn _precious_. Now as his little sister, though, Tala still found it... _cute_. And endearing.

_...I was really an idiot, huh?_

Shaking his head, Tala threw the shirt at Kai, the piece of clothing landing on top of her head. He always packs enough shirts for two whenever they go out of the country. He can't remember when or how it started but by the time he noticed it didn't matter anymore. It already reached the point where his well worn hoodies would suddenly go missing when Kai was away for a lengthy business trip and then magically appear in the laundry basket when she returned home.

He never called her on it. It was a testament on how comfortable she was with him. Besides, thinking about it, it wasn't really that surprising. During some nights back in the Abbey, Kai would always find her way under his thin blankets and burrow under his arm whenever she was in one of her dark moods or when her wild imagination convinced her that there was some eyeless spook at the foot of her cot. Not that she remembered nor Tala forthcoming with it. He had already decided that only if or when Kai asked was the only time he'd divulge any information regarding that three-year gap in her memory.

Tala's jaw popped as he yawned widely while scratching his ribs under his loose shirt. He returned back to his bed and pillowed an arm under his head, settling on the side next to the aisle. Shortly, he heard the quiet creaks of springs as Kai climbed onto her bed. He stared up, the leaf shaped wooden ceiling fan revolving lazily above them, and then began counting in his head.

_One... Two... Three... Four..._

..._Fifty Six..._

"...One hundred," he whispered to himself and rolled to his side, close to the edge. Tala closed his eyes and coaxed for rest to come again, content that the last thing he saw was Kai's face, sleeping and with not a worry in the world.

:::

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><p>Ian Papov added 1 new photo<p>

1hr

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_breakfast ›:^3_

_#frenchtoast #bacon&eggs #infinitypool #BlitzVacation_

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Raul Fernandez, MingMing, Max Tate, Zeo Zaggart and 8 others like this

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Tyson Kinomiya _sure tell ozuma ;0_

1hr . Like

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Kevin Cheng _whos idea is this rei needs a long chat with him_

1 min ago . Like

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Ian Papov _ Kinomiya private island ftw! Cheng i'll clear bry's sched roflololololololl_

2 secs ago . Like

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Kevin Cheng _thats grouchy pants isn't it? =o=_

Just now . Like

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><p>Ian's thumbs hovered above the screen of his iPhone. Another rounded bleep sounded from it not even a second after the last comment. It was from the Chinese Monkey again. Ian ignored it, turning to Bryan.<p>

"Whose island is this?" he asked.

Bryan grunted, biting into his toast, egg yolk oozing from the opposite side of the sandwich. "Hell should I know," he grumbled, his chewing muffling his words. He swallowed thickly then gulped some of his orange juice, gesturing carelessly to the other table where Kai and Wyatt's group were eating. "Ask them."

"_Kai!_ Who owns this place?'

The older teen shrugged before she slowly took a sip from her steaming tea.

"A Senreus Argauto," Wyatt answered for her, "An acquaintance of my mother's—"

Ian tuned out the rest of the explanation to educate the people at FB of said island's owner while he drank some of his juice. Another bleep issued from his phone, another comment from Cheng asking what they were doing. Ian poked his tongue on the inside of his cheek, glancing discreetly at Kai and then at Wyatt who were chatting a mile away about the photoshoot. Ian tapped a reply and then saw Cheng's new reply before he exited the post and scrolled down through his news feed.

He skimmed through the numerous status updates, finding nothing new. Not that he expected any. Everybody was busy whining whose Captain and/or Coach was Hitler incarnate. Judging from Mingming's one too many sympathy posts, Kinomiya's shitty excuse for an Indiana Jones wannabe of a brother was the front runner. Ian would have cared more because of Mingming, Mystel and Moses but the rest of their team were _numero uno_—well. _Okay._ Boris was first, then Voltaire and then them but, point in fact, they were all in that hit list he was gonna give to the KGB someday.

And, _nah_, whatever anyone says he wasn't the type to hold a grudge. Although if Disney Princess, Bruce Lee and Indiana Jones bit the dust Final Destination style he'd be first in line to buy drinks to celebrate karmic justice.

"Okay, start wrapping up people," Wyatt announced making Ian look up to him, "we'll get ready in fifteen."

The guys began polishing off their breakfasts, Ian following suit. Wyatt already told them during last night's dinner that they'd be helping out today. The rest of the photoshoot team and beach house staff had to go because of them. They had to because the only ones who knew that Kai was Kai were the people present at this moment and letting them see the whole Blitzkrieg team would be a dead giveaway.

It wasn't such a big deal. They just needed to move around some stuff and that was it. It was a small price to pay for being allowed to tag along. They could just go ahead to Crete or stay another day in Santorini but nobody wanted to miss the chance to poke fun at Kai when she models Wyatt's stuff.

Wyatt had them promise not to overdo their sabotaging ways but it was pretty obvious that none from the brunet's team were worried about what they could cook up. Kai, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind too and was more busy glaring at Tala while the idiot piled pieces of grilled meat one after the other on her salmon steak until she got pissed off. And, yeah, that I'm-pissed-off-at-you-gonna-give-you-a-cold-shoulder kind of pissed off. She pushed her plate away, said she was done eating, and closed off. Ian was sure she'd walked away. She would normally walk away but she seems to hold Wyatt and the rest at a higher pedestal and stayed, making the dinner awkward as hell.

Tala looked lost. He had never dealt with a real pissed off Kai before, neither had any of them for that matter. When she was real mad at them she'd just take off, cool her head, and then smack either him, Tala or Bryan behind the head when she returned and everything would be water under the bridge.

Everybody tried to lift the mood but Spencer was the only one to successfully pry a '_Hn' _from her. Ian kicked Tala's shin from under the table, his way of _nice going, moron_. Tala suffered it with a cringe. Fortunately dessert came and Tala had enough brain cells to use his share as a peace offering. Kai ignored the offered treat at first but the older Russian bumped his shoulder with hers, pushing the plate to her. She gave him a sideways look, all squinty and frowny, before stabbing her fork into the layered cake and ate a small portion. Bryan sagged in his seat and gave an audible sigh of relief. The crisis had ended.

Ian pushed back his seat and began stacking up the plates, the twins helping him cart the dirty dishes to the kitchen. He had dishwashing duty first before he helped the guys with Gillian's stuff. The girls, including Spencer, were in charge of setting up the tent for makeup and changing. The beach house wasn't that far away from the shore but Kai had to strut three different dresses. It'd be too bothersome to go back and forth just to change.

When Ian was done with his chore, the temple ruin backdrop had already been setup and Bryan and Tala were already positioning the lights, reflectors and fan as Gillian instructed. The French spotted him and asked him to go stand beside the fake pillar to test out the lighting. They were pretty much done after that. The remaining two shoots were already taken care of. One would be on the rockier side of the beach where big slabs of corals were strategically placed the day before and the last shoot will be by the water where an inclined transparent platform was fixed, also done the day before.

Finished with their part, they began helping Ms. Layla carry her kits, the twins' equipment and Wyatt's clothes and rack to the tent while Kai and the others finish up their task. The whole prep was done in record time.

"You are more efficient than my regular minions. _mon petits_," Gillian grinned.

Well. It was hard to train out old habits. Efficiency was beaten to them black and blue back in the days.

They had a bit of free time while the twins and Ms. Layla got Kai ready for the shoot. Tala and Bryan decided to enjoy the beach and went for a swim while Spencer went back to the house to fix them lunch. Ian on the other hand hanged around the tent and watched the girls work and secretly took pictures. He posted a picture of Kai's from the waist down in his private instagram account, accomplishing his end of the deal in giving a snapshot of the model. Cheng commented on his teammate's never been seen long, slim legs only minutes after the deed, giving the impression that Kon wasn't such a dictator than what he wanted him to appear. Whatever, it was none of Ian's business.

Ian joined Tala and Bryan at the beach when he got bored of the girly part of the shoot, Sasha and Cloe were still giving long, winding waves to Kai's hair when he left. It took about an hour of beach volleyball, swimming and some chat about what Dickenson cooked up for them in the upcoming tournament before one of the twins called them to help with the shoot.

Gillian had them stand by the lights and reflectors with Wyatt. Kai came with one of twins helping her by the hand, her strappy, pointy heels making it hard for her to move on the sand. Gillian met them halfway and briefed her again for the shoot, the hem of her dress trailing lightly on the ground in overlapping layers of translucent light colored scales that darkened as it fitted the curves of her body from thighs to chest. Gillian made her stand by the pillar and said something. Ian wasn't—

_..._

Everyone was moving mechanically as Gillian ordered. The man himself was quick to move from one point to the other to shoot Kai in different angles, giving her pointers to tilt her head or look this way and that, lean on the stone more and mind your hand, _ma chérie_. Kai followed the instructions to the dot, her expression having an almost soft, weepy, hopeful quality to it. Gillian asked Bryan to adjust the fan, the artificial wind making Kai's long wavy locks dance gently in the air. Tala was then asked to point the reflector to a certain angle and made it seem that the dress was shimmering.

Then the shoot was over and Ian was already staring at Kai's retreating back as she was helped out of the set to change for the next.

"Shi... That... Kai, right?"

Ian's mouth moved slowly. "Yeah."

"Guns."

"Yeah."

"We have enough?"

"Yeah."

"You know, I don't need to know Russian to know what you guys are talking about," Wyatt said in singsong, smiling smugly, snapping Ian out his daze and making him realize that he and Bryan had switched back to their mother tongues. "First time brothers, is it?"

Ian grumbled, annoyed at getting teased, switching his mind back to English with effort. "She always looks like that when you guys do this?"

"What? Didn't expect her to look so model-y?"

"You're absolutely sure this shit is only for homework?" Bryan countered, now also speaking back in English.

"I'm staking my _womanhood_ that you boys don't have to worry about a thing. And you're overreacting. Kai's naturally pretty. It's _super_ easy to make her look pro, right Gillian?"

The man in question laughed in good humor. "_Ma chérie _is pro."

"Oh, we could just both wish."

The two then lightly chatted about their preferences in models. Ian busied himself with moving Gillian's stuff to the next shoot area, shaking his head. When they get back home, they needed to go shopping. If he remembered correctly, they were already running low in ammo from their last hunt. He heard Bryan and Tala plotting in Russian about restocking too when he passed by them. _Good_. Everybody was on same page.

Lunch was served before the next shoot began. Ian made a face at the many pieces of dainty bite sized sandwiches, chicken strips and shrimp poppers. Spencer was quick to bring out heavy, hot burritos wrapped in foil before he could complain, though. Ian munched the spicy rolled piece of heaven made of rice, ground beef, and some kind of beans moistened with a generous helping of Spencer's special barbeque sauce. _Heaven_.

They began the second shoot about mid afternoon with bellies already full of good food. Ian and the rest were already prepared when Kai showed her mug next. They had already seen her with her makeup and hair done so the blow wouldn't be as hard.

Kai showed up with another trailing dress. This time it was gold as the sand under clear water and was sewn with lots and lots of tiny disk like beads that made it seem like it was made out of starfish skin. Bryan made a wise crack about the plunging square neckline that gave a borderline modest and generous view of her boobs. Kai only flicked the stray locks that weren't secured into her now loose half pony as a reply. Her version of sticking her tongue out, Ian suspected. Gillian instructed her to lie on her side, her propped elbow and arm submerged under the shallow water. She was asked to lift her torso more and made Ian disturbingly aware of how curvy she could be, the dress not helping any with how it fitted her like second skin until it flared out halfway down her thighs. _Landmines_. They needed landmines around the house too. Wyatt helped getting the trail to cover her lower limbs until the flowy part of the dress draped over them in a way that resembled a fish tail.

The shoot progressed the same as before and was quick to finish.

Ian was just about to move a reflector to the final site when Gillian approached him.

"Would _monsieur_ like to learn?" the man asked, offering his fancy camera with its big ass lens.

Ian agreed without second thoughts. He didn't have much interest in fashion photog but he was curious how his shots would turn out if he used pro stuff.

The man let him take experimental shots with it while the others fixed up the final set. He received pointers and tips while doing the exercise and found the whole experience fun. Later, when Gillian left him to check up with the others, Wyatt congratulated him. Apparently Gillian Vittore was a household name in the industry and was notoriously picky with his protégés.

Kai emerged from the tent after a while that had Tala and Bryan muttering darkly in Russian again. Spencer would have probably been plotting with them too but the big guy was making himself busy fixing their dinner.

Like the first two, the last dress was another form-fitting, flowy, traily thing. Unlike the others though, it had a fancy patterned lattice of fine silvery metallic strings that bridged the red lace Chinese collar to the upper hem of the dress that ended on top of Kai's chest. The delicate metal work spread until it covered the slope of her arms and served as dress' short sleeves. The choker-collar had a green stone setting and the dress itself was plain red, accentuated with simple gold thread embroideries.

Kai and the dress' whole image actually reminded Ian of Dranzer and her fiery plumes making him wonder if Wyatt specifically chose the design and color with the Bit Beast in mind.

They started the last shoot when it was about an hour before dusk, or what Gillian called golden hour.

"Pay close attention, _mon petit_, this is first lesson," Gillian told him over his shoulder.

Kai arched a questioning brow at Ian. He only shrugged. He wasn't clear about the details as to why the man took him as prospective student without so much as a by-the-way but he wasn't about to throw a golden egg down the chute either.

Tala walked Kai by the hand to the platform, the two backing up until they were ankle deep in the water, Gillian guiding them behind his viewfinder. Gillian took preliminary shots before Tala returned to the shore, teasing Kai that he'd be waiting for her to fall flat on her face. When everybody was in their places, they officially started.

Gillian made Kai walk towards him, her movement fluid, poised and confident. The cool but proud expression on her face made Ian think of some queen in those historical TV dramas.

The shoot went like the first two except Gillian was chattier. He'd tell Kai to lift or tuck her chin, swing her arms slowly or in a certain direction and then ask-lecture Ian as to why he instructed it. The man also pointed out the position of the light after a while. Gillian motioned Ian to come and see the difference when he took a picture at this angle and then at a different one. Ian nodded and soaked in what the man was teaching him, finding how he manipulated every little detail freaking awesome and making him wanna invest in his own equipment.

"Can I try?" he asked before Gillian called it a day.

The man regarded him steadily from above his straight nose, his blue eyes measuring. He turned to Kai. "Well, _ma chérie_?"

Ian gave Kai his best puppy dog look or what he hoped to be one.

Kai went back to the start of the invisible platform. "What's another ten minutes," she threw over her shoulder offhandedly.

Ian whooped, pumping his fist, taking back all the nasty stuff he called her before.

_Best. Sibling. Ever._

—But she was still a grouch. And a prick. And that come hither look she gave them earlier had irreparably bleached his brain because that was so wrong in multiple levels. _Multiple_. _Levels._

Well at least she wasn't as loud as most of the girls he knew...

Kai repeated the exact same thing she was doing earlier while Ian fiddled and experimented in his own shots, enjoying the whole experience as he discovered what angles and settings worked best for him. Though, it'd be nice if Kai could come at him a bit more... _intense._ The dress had taken a darker hue now that they were fast approaching dusk. The regal thing she was doing kinda didn't jive with it anymore.

"All right, _mon petit_, this will be last. We don't want _ma chérie _to catch cold," Gillian reminded beside him.

Ian nodded then turned to Kai. "Say, who are you role playing?"

"Dranzer," Kai answered as she turned back to position.

Huh. Well that made sense... Hm. "Could you do a Black Dranzer?"

Kai cocked her head to the side as if considering his request then shrugged. "Count me down to ten."

Wyatt briskly skipped beside him and Gillian and did as Kai ask, his voice loud and clear. Ian was already ready by the count of five, not really sure what he was expecting. Wyatt clapped both his hands like a studio clapper right after the count of one. Kai started walking.

Ian's mouth dropped as she delivered her version of a Black Dranzer cat walk. He fumbled with Gillian's camera, quickly scrambling to collect his wits to take his shots. There was still that fluid grace in the way she moved but it was far from regal. The monarch was replaced with an arrogant, sleek predator taking its time with its prey as she gave him the perfect portrait of a cruel conqueror with a ghost of a cold, seductive smirk playing on her lips.

He _needed_ to capture it.

"All right good. Bry adjust the light about thirty degrees to your left... yeah, that's good. Kai look here. A bit down. ...Perfect. Good."

If her Dranzer was all about being majestic, her Black Dranzer was pure malevolence. _Perfect_.

Ian made Kai walk a couple more times and then had her do a still pose, catching her image by the wayside while she glanced at him. Ian was in the middle of explaining what to do next when she suddenly sneezed, abruptly breaking him from his focus.

"Okay. That's enough," Tala announced while he approached Kai and then unceremoniously draped his button up shirt over her shoulders to serve as a makeshift jacket, covering her bare back from the cool night breeze—

..._Oh._

"Ehe, sorry, got carried away," Ian laughed sheepishly, his chin dipping down.

"Hn," Kai intoned in dismissal, dropping the whole Black Dranzer act. "Are we done?"

"_Oui, ma chérie_. I'm sure _mon petit_ has more than enough pictures," Gillian said.

Ian nodded in agreement. "Yeah, thanks. You're the best, _syestreechka_."

Kai regarded him for a moment and then bended down from her waist and took off her high heels. Gillian indicated for his camera. Ian unhooked its thick lace from his neck and gave it back to the man with great care.

"We'll review shots after dinner, _oui_?"

"Sure!" Ian grinned and then a sudden impulse made his stomach drop somewhere down his feet. "Uh, hey, could I tag along when you guys, uh, do this again?"

The man smiled. "I should expect student present for his lessons, should I not?"

"Uh... is that a yes?"

"_Oui_."

Ian gaped at the man. Was he— Did he—

"Guys! G_uuuu_ys!" Ian turned back to Bryan and then upfront where Tala and Kai were trudging towards the house, gesturing widely with his arms. "He said I could come to the next shoot!"

"Fan-_fucking _-tastic," Bryan deadpanned. "Now get back to work. I want to eat some time before midnight."

"Only if you don't have school and training," Tala called back before continuing to lead Kai to the house.

Ian stuck his tongue at the red head. That was a given. _Duh_. But, whatever! He had himself invited to another pro set! No amount of wet blanketing from those two twits could dampen his mood.

Ian grinned to himself as he helped tidy up Gillian's stuff, thinking of the things he could ask Kai to do, what costume Wyatt would make and what Gillian would teach him next. Oh, but first he needed practice. He can take good photos, Gillian said, but he was kidding himself if he could compare them to the man's. So. For that. Lots of practice. ...Ah, right, first he needed a camera. He had more than enough savings to buy himself a good one for sure. He just needed to know what to buy... he'll ask Gilly about it later... Yeah... Yeah then when he has a camera he could ask Kai to help him practice. He'll call in a favor if he had to. And then after he got the hang of it he could ask Gilly to take him to more shoots. The man should say yes, he did technically took him under his wing. Yeah... Yeah. That would work. And then eventually he'd be able to do this without supervision. Arrange his own photoshoots, go to kickass locations, have his own team—it was gonna be so _awesome!_

Thinking and polishing his epic master plan gave an extra bounce to Ian's mood, excitement mounting into an uncontrollable thing that almost made him vibrate. It only lasted until he caught the tail end of Bryan and Spencer's discussion about weight disks. His grin slipped, realizing that he had pulled a Sumeragi level of moronicness.

He didn't include beyblading in his plans.

:::

Miguel deeply breathed in the salty sea breeze, the chatter of tourists and locals alike a welcomed noise in his afternoon. Stepping out into the sun, he fancied himself on touring Heraklion's inner streets, ripe with its blend of old and modern Greek heritage. The hustle and bustle was a gross difference to Amirandes' private manicured resort but nothing speaks more for Crete's capital municipality than walking alongside deities carved on ancient walls and quaint little outdoor cafes and _tavernas_ that could easily pass as countryside view even with the looming metropolis behind them.

A few passing Greek _señoritas_ gave him bashful smiles as they crossed paths. Miguel dipped his head in acknowledgement, the corners of his mouth lifting with practiced ease, and heard the women giggle behind him as he continued his stroll. If the rest of the team were with him, Matty and Julia would surely accuse him of being a show pony. It was a little unfair. They never labelled any of their peers or Romero as such when they do something like that too.

Then again, it was better to be called a show pony rather than a flirt or a pervert, Miguel guessed. Though his two female teammates seemed to be more concerned on how casually he gave his smiles to anyone that acknowledges him...

"You shouldn't have encouraged that woman, you know," Matty had said once after a team interview from a local reporter, miffed.

"She was just looking, Matty," Miguel replied.

"Looking my foot," Julia snapped, "I seriously hope for the sake of your future girlfriend that you'd grow some actual balls and drop the polite act you keep doing all the time, Lavalier."

Miguel only laughed back then. If he was fortunate enough to meet the better half of his heart, there was nothing to worry about such things. He'd be very sure that she knew and feel that he only belonged to her.

It was a nice thought.

He knew his father was aiming to marry him off to a random daughter of one of their partners since he still hadn't pursued any prospects. It was one of the many senseless reasons why the elder wanted him to quit blading, saying that the sport was distracting him from his responsibilities in the _familia_. A frown stretched his mouth down, the thought flinging a heavy wrench in his previously lightened mood.

Miguel turned around a corner, coming to a street where shop owners and tourists haggle for numerous Grecian souvenirs to take home to relatives and demanding friends. He passed by them without much interest and only took note of the many miniatures of Olympian gods as a way of taking his mind off of such ugly musings.

_Dios mío_, settling down, his father says. Miguel was to celebrate his twentieth birthday in a couple of months and he wasn't looking forward to it. No doubt his father would find time to engage him a headache inducing squabble during the celebration. He only hoped that his _abuela_ would have the time to arrange it rather than his parents. He didn't want it turning into some kind of occasion wherein he'd have to meet every eligible daughter of some family friend or partner and pretend to be pleasant.

Miguel's fingertips brushed with the slender hand of a stranger before he realized that he was already mulling over his soon to be problems at home. He took back his hand from reaching the cartoonish plush toy version of a Cerberus, something Matty would probably appreciate. "_Lo siento, señorita_," he began, turning to the lady that he had intercepted the toy with, "Please, go right—"

Deep red eyes stared back at him from behind a pair of bug-eyed plastic spectacles sitting on the gentle sloping bridge of a lovely thin nose. The stranger's sweet looking lips parted gently... —_Carnations_. Her eyes reminded him of his _abuela's_ dark red blossoms under the warm, radiant sun. The delicateness of her visage effortlessly giving life to the essence of the flower's first Spring bloom—

"You know, honey, if you're gonna goggle my friend like you're about to sing her ballads, the least you could do is ask her out for coffee."

Miguel blinked back his surprise and quickly averted his eyes elsewhere, finding the cobbled pavement suddenly interesting and feeling his face heat up. "Ah, pardon my rudeness, _señor, señorita_. I had something in my mind." The excuse sounded so pathetic even in his own ears. "Please don't let me bother you with your shopping."

He hurriedly excused himself from their company, briskly walking away, embarrassment keeping his head low. He was already out of their earshot when he unleashed a heavy string of Spanish profanities, berating himself for his flustering. He halted in the middle of his self loathing only to resume again when he realized that he just threw the perfect opportunity to introduce himself. Swiftly muttering insults to his amazingly useless mental prowess, he turned back to the souvenir shop, hoping that she was still there.

The young lady and her companion were already gone from the shop. Miguel quickly asked the shop owner which direction they went. The old man arched a white brow and pointed him to where to go next, calling out good fortune as he jogged through the thin crowd.

He swung his sights from the front to the right and then to the left where the street lead to the main road. He spotted the distinct two toned blue hair of his beautiful stranger while her brown haired companion tried to flag down a—Miguel's feet ran on their own, panic spurning them in action. A cab pulled beside the two foreigners.

"_Señorita! Espere, por favor!_"

Miguel hooked his hand to the cab's door, fingers trying to dig into metal, his arm jolting him forward as he stumbled for purchase to refrain it from crushing his hand. "_Por favor_," he panted.

"...Yes?" his _corazón_ asked.

Miguel gathered his wits, gulping large mouthfuls of air to calm his heart from the sudden sprint. "_Quieres que..._" he started, breathing deeply and then exhaled to compose himself more. "It would be bold of me to ask, but, _café_—coffee. May I take you out for coffee?"

Her mouth parted and then closed, her gaze falling to the wayside. "I'm sorry but—"

"Would rather do dinner," her companion suddenly interrupted.

"_Wyatt!_"

"Go, go," the male said, pushing her out. She ended up standing beside Miguel at the sidewalk. The brunet then abruptly closed the door before she could get back into her seat. Miguel suddenly found himself under a hard brown gaze. "All right, _Zorro_, dinner then return her to Sofia Hotel before nine, got it?"

Miguel nodded in jerky movements while his _corazón _protested in distressed whispers.

"Oh don't worry, will you? I'll take care of mama wolf."

"_Wyatt._"

"Don't _Wyatt_ me, _Clo-e_. Socialize. It's a need. And it goes beyond your super hot brother figures." The brunet turned to Miguel again and whispered conspiratorially to him, "She's a shy little thing, don't go getting discouraged if she clams up."

The male turned to the driver and told him to take him to Koules. The cab drove off and left Miguel to gather his scattered bearings. His _corazón _sighed in defeat. Miguel mentally kicked himself again. He was fumbling like a fool.

Miguel cleared his throat." _Lo siento_, _señorita_, I didn't mean to cause you trouble."

Her eyes flickered to him momentarily and then avoided his gaze again, her lips pressing into a thin line. She spoke quietly. "It's fine, I can get another cab."

He grimaced at that. Her rejection quite clear but he couldn't just let her go without the promise of a second encounter. Summoning up his courage, he moved so that he was in front of her and tried to put himself into her sight, bending to his torso to match the level of her downcasted head.

"I don't mean trouble, but I would really like to take you out," he said in earnest.

"I don't—"

"_Por Favor. Sólo me gustaría mucho conocerte_."

His _corazón _sighed. "I don't speak Spanish."

His eyes widened, only realizing now that he was rudely switching back and forth to English and _Español_. A slew of apologies ran down his head but his _corazón_ finally, finally looked back at him.

"But I could do coffee."

His _corazón_ then pulled away from him and slowly walked back to the street behind them. Giddiness quickly spread throughout his chest, flooding his limbs with lightness. He raced to her side, stopping a small distance behind her but close enough to signify the familiarity of a long time friend. She glanced up to him and he hoped his smile wasn't too broad. A faint blush spread across her cheeks, the rosy tint sweet against the milkiness of her skin, and quickly dipped her chin, ears reddening.

Miguel beamed at her endearing timidness, resolutely promising himself to charm her to have dinner with him tonight as well.

**:::**

**Chapter Three**

**End**

**:::**

_Christ. _That went longer than intended, but I don't want to cut it out in the middle before the point of the chapter was accomplished. Anyway, someone has a crush, _heehee_.

Only two more chapters before the tournament start! And what a tournament it would be... I hope.

I freaking hate the fact that I can't use indentation here -_-

A heads up, I'm fluent with only two languages, English and Filipino. So if you see any mistakes regarding foreign phrases I'll ask forgiveness now. Also, I've never been to Greece nor the Vatican. Everything here are based from pictures from the net and my imagination u.u

Many thanks to reviewers, followers and favorites. They made my day :3

Keep it cool guys,

mimic

**End Notes:**

1. Chapter status and concerns about updates are now included in my author profile.

2. Translations – courtesy of google :3

_A. Russian_

Syestreechka – dimunitive form of sister, could be translated to sis. Formal term is _seestra_.

_B. French_

Oui – yes

Ma cherie – my dear/darling, refers to females

Mon petit – little one, refers to males

Rien ne pourrait être plus épanouissante – Nothing could be more fulfilling

_C. Spanish_

Abuela – grandmother

Corazon - heart

Dios Mio – God/My god

Familia - family

Hermana – elder sister

Lo siento - sorry

Por favor – please

Por Favor. Sólo me gustaría mucho conocerte – Please. I only would like to know you.

Quieres que – Would you(?)

Senor – sir

Senorita – miss, refers to unmarried women

Señorita! Espere, por favor! – Miss! Wait, please!


End file.
